Into The Night
by Ashi Ruby
Summary: Forced into coming by their friends, Sakura and Itachi decide that maybe dancing would pass the time away, and have a little fun while they're at it. My first ItaSaku fic! Opening is a songfic, but this no longer a oneshot.
1. Into The Night: They Meet

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or the song Into The Night by Santana and Chad Kroeger (but that is such an AWESOME song!).

Author's Note: Well, I've been listening and dancing around to this song for a good while, and got inspiration for a songfic. XD This will be my very first ItaSaku story (I don't know; the song seems to fit them somehow o.O), so enjoy! I took a few parts of the lyrics out (the parts that are the faded behind the main vocals) since I didn't feel like adding them in.

Into The Night

"Loosen up, yeah!" Deidara yelled, "We did it! We should be relaxing and partying, yeah!" Itachi glared at his blonde friend as he took another large gulp of sake. To his left, Kisame was agreeing, taking a drink himself. Itachi looked away from the two, preferring to stare off into the crowd than to see the two start a drinking contest.

_'Why did I let these two idiots bring me here?'_ he thought, taking a sip of his drink. Yeah, he was forced to come in "celebration" of a recent business deal between the Uchiha company and another in Suna, and sadly that's why he was here. Watching the crowd of dancers and ignoring the two men that were now fighting on who could hold their alcohol better.

He watched as people came in and out, people approaching and leaving the bar, and pairs dancing and grinding to some sort of heavy dance mix on the floor. He let out an annoyed sigh, glaring at the two men before getting up and approaching the bar to get away from them.

Just shortly after he sat down at the bar, something else caught his attention: the sound of loud giggles and gossip. He looked over in the direction of the sound, noticing four girls sitting down at an open booth, and glared slightly, hating the annoying noise.

"I can't believe you were able to come, Hinata! I thought Naruto would be keeping you at home so you two could--" the one with blonde hair began to say.

"Ino! Please stop that! Naruto-kun isn't like that!" shot back the one with midnight blue-black hair.

"Oh, please!" piped up the one with brown hair in buns.

"Tenten, not you too..." Hinata said with a sad sigh.

"All right, stop picking on her. Naruto isn't that perverted, geez," said the woman with bright pink hair,

"He works for Jiraiya. Of course he's perverted," Ino said in retaliation.

The voice of reason only sighed, "I'm getting a drink." She stood up, ignored by her friends as they continued to poke fun at Hinata. Itachi watched as the pink hair woman approached the bar, taking a seat next to him. "Cherry coke," she said, receiving a strange look from the bartender. "Designated driver," she explained as she received an understanding nod.

She sighed as she waited for her drink, twirling a finger on the counter around in circles. Itachi took a sip of his drink and turned to her, "A little annoyed?"

She looked over at him, "Just slightly. If it wasn't for the fact that I knew those three were going to get drunk tonight, I wouldn't be here." He chuckled, "Somewhat the same for myself, just I rather have one drink and make it slow."

She chuckled herself, grabbing the drink that was now placed before her. "Buddies having fun while you're the annoyed one."

"Exactly."

She took a sip, emerald eyes staring into dark red. "My name is Sakura Haruno," she said.

"Itachi Uchiha."

A thin brow raised, "Uchiha? Related to Sasuke Uchiha?"

"Yep. He's my little brother."

She chuckled, "I see." She looked away, focusing on her drink instead of him, ignoring the look that he was now giving her. "I take it you know him," he said. She scoffed, taking a sip of her soda. "Yeah, you can say that," she said, now staring off into space, "He's my ex. Broke up because I didn't give in to what he wanted."

"Give in?"

"He wanted sex, I said no. Sorry, but I have my morals. And apparently my respect for what I believe in wasn't good enough."

She looked over at Itachi, "Your brother is a damn hormone-driven pervert. And apparently THAT desperate to get laid since he turned to Konoha's number one slut Karin." She took another drink, chuckling as she placed it on the table. "Hopefully he's happy with the bitch. She's just going to use him, but hey, as long as he gets some I'm sure he doesn't care," she said, a dark smile playing her lips.

Itachi chuckled somewhat loudly, "And you actually are telling this to his older brother? How do you know that I won't turn around and tell him everything you just said?" Her eyes sparked slightly with anger for a second, but it disappeared as quickly as it came and she laughed, "Hey, go ahead if you want to. If he comes at me to discuss things, it'll give me the chance to slap him for what the hell he did."

For a moment they stared at each other in silence, each taking a sip of their drink. Suddenly the DJ began to speak over the crowd. "Hey folks, time for a song that everyone can participate in, dancing or not. So clap your hands and sing along," he said, changing the song. Sakura smiled as she recognized the music. "Good song," she said, swaying her head slightly to the starting beat. He smirked, placing down his glass. "Well then, how about we dance? Keep your mind off of trying to hurt my brother," he offered, almost laughing at the thought of the petite woman doing physical damage to his surely much stronger brother. "Why not?" she said with a small smirk, taking his hand and leading him out to the dance floor.

_Like a gift from the heavens, it was easy to tell_

_It was love from above that could save me from hell_

He spun her around, watching as her emerald eyes glow in the light that shined around the club. "You like to dance don't you?" he asked as she swayed to the song, pink hair moving around her face like a veil. "Very much so. It's a lot of fun!" she exclaimed as she spun her around again.

_She had fire in her soul, it was easy to see_

_How the devil himself could be pulled out of me_

He chuckled as he brought her in close, her back to his with hands in hers, "I can tell. It's quite sad that my foolish little brother let you slip right through his fingers." She was silent as she rocked with him to the beat for a few moments before pushing away.

_There were drums in the air as she started to dance_

_Every soul in the room keeping time with their hands_

Claps echoed the room, the pair following suit. She smiled and closed her eyes as the music continued on.

_And we sang_

_Ay oh ay oh ay oh ay_

_And the voices rang like the angels sing_

_And singing_

_Ay oh ay oh ay oh ay_

_And we danced into the night_

Sakura reopened her eyes after she sang the last line's repeat, only to have red staring deeply at her. "You have a beautiful voice as well," Itachi said, his lips forming a smirk as he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulling her next to him. Her cheeks formed a small blush as her hands landed on his chest, but she smiled and they continued to sway to the music.

"Your eyes are different from anyone else I've met in your family."

"They're contacts, actually. My sight's rather poor without them."

"I see. But why red?"

"My favorite color."

"Ah, got it. Unique, actually."

He smirked, "Your eyes are unique as well. Such a bright green." She blushed a little more at the compliment, "Thank you. It seems that all women in my family have green eyes. Family trait, I guess."

"Like how most members in my family have onyx eyes."

"Exactly."

Silence enveloped them as they danced, each of them staring deeply into the eyes of the other.

_Like a piece to the puzzle that falls into place_

_You could tell how we felt by the looks on our faces_

His forehead met hers, "Sasuke was a fool to let you go. A beautiful angel like you only comes around once." Sakura smirked, arms wrapping around his neck, "You're just full of compliments, aren't you Itachi? You really know how to make a girl feel good about herself." He chuckled, a hand leaving her waist to brush against her cheek. "Can't help but say the truth, Sakura," he said, his voice now smooth. She laughed slightly, her fingers playing with his ebony hair, tied back in a ponytail.

_We was spinning in circles with the moon in our eyes_

_No room left to move in between you and I_

Everyone seemed to have disappeared, leaving only them and the music as they danced close to each other, hips slightly grinding against one another.

_We forgot where we were and we lost track of time_

_And we sang to the wind as we danced through the night_

She parted her lips, her voice coming out in a melody as she sang, Itachi joining her this time around.

_And we sang_

_Ay oh ay oh ay oh ay_

_And the voices rang like the angels sing_

_And singing_

_Ay oh ay oh ay oh ay_

_And we danced on into the night_

Against each other's lips they whispered the last line's repeat, eyes closing as they reached out to meet.

"Sakura!?"

They broke apart at the sound of the voice, and she turned her head to meet onyx eyes. "Sasuke? What do you want?" she asked, annoyance and anger in her voice.

"What the hell? Why are you dancing with my brother!?"

"I want to. Is that a problem?"

"Damn right it is!"

Sakura turned her head to look at the woman that was approaching and glared, "Why don't you dance with your whore and leave me alone? You're ruining my fun."

"Excuse me!? I'm not a whore!"

"Karin--"

"Oh, sorry. Could've fooled me. I thought that having the reputation of sleeping with a man a day would've qualified you for the title."

"You little bitch!"

Sakura smirked as Karin began to come at her, eyes full of anger and a hand itching to place its mark on her cheek. Before she could get close, Itachi pulled Sakura to the side and moved past, his foot "accidentally" getting in her way, tripping and forcing her down onto the floor. "I wouldn't try that again, if I were you," he said, then turning to his brother, "Foolish little brother. You let an angel go for her? Quite a shame." He took Sakura's hand and began to walk away to another part of the floor to continue their dance.

"What the hell!? Sakura!"

"Bye Sasuke! Have fun with Konoha's number one slut!"

Sakura only laughed as Itachi smirked, leaving Sasuke standing there trying to control his very angry and red-faced girlfriend.

As the words began again, he wrapped his arms around her waist, "Now, shall we continue where we were?" Sakura smirked as she wrapped her arms around her neck and placed her forehead against his. "Yes, I believe we should," she said, their bodies swaying again to the beat.

_Like a gift from the heavens, it was easy to tell_

_It was love from above that could save me from hell_

"Good job on tripping Karin. That was hilarious," Sakura said, fingers playing with his hair again and her eyes alit with amusement. "Well, did you think I was going to let her ruin that beautiful face of yours?" he responded with a smirk, receiving a laugh in return.

_She had fire in her soul, it was easy to see_

_How the devil himself could be pulled out of me_

"Again with the compliments?" she asked jokingly, hips grinding slightly with his, "You're such a gentleman, you know." He chuckled, a hand brushing against her cheek on its way to thread through her hair.

_There were drums in the air as she started to dance_

_Every soul in the room keeping time with their hands_

They broke apart, hands clapping along to the beat with the room as their lips parted to sing.

_And we sang_

_Ay oh ay oh ay oh ay_

_And the voices rang like the angels sing_

_And singing_

_Ay oh ay oh ay oh ay_

_And we danced on into the night_

They moved in close again, voices now a whisper against their lips.

_And we danced on into the night_

Her hands rested against his chest as his tightened on her waist.

_And we danced on into the night_

Their lips met, each pushing passion into their control as the music began to finish and fade.

_Singing ay oh ay oh ay oh ay_

_And we danced on into the night_

They pulled apart as the music stopped and another song began to play. Itachi smirked, "Buy you another cherry coke?" She nodded, a little stunned to speak, and he chuckled as he led her back over to the bar.

Sadly, before they were able to order their drinks, a loud, obnoxious voice yelled out, "Itachi! Hey Itachi, I won, yeah! Look at Kisame; he's out!"

Itachi looked over at the loud blonde as he pointed to the passed out Kisame. "I won the game, yeah!" Deidara exclaimed, taking another drink of sake. "Idiots," the Uchiha mumbled, turning over to Sakura.

"Friends?"

"Yeah."

"A bit drunk."

"A bit?"

"Okay, a lot," Sakura said with a laugh, looking over at the table that her friends were hopefully still sitting at. She hit her face with her palm as she watched Ino begin to stand up, screeching out the lyrics to the song with a slur. "Great...I got drunk friends too," she muttered.

"Well, I guess we better become the designated drivers, huh?"

"Seems like it."

Itachi took out a pen from his shirt and wrote down something on a napkin. "Here's my number. Call me sometime," he said. Sakura smiled as she ripped off the unused part of it and borrowed his pen to write hers down, "Or you can call me sometime." She smirked as she got off her stool. "Thanks for the dance, Itachi," she said. He smirked as he grabbed her wrist and pulled her in, placing a gentle kiss on her lips. "See you soon," he said as he let her go.

She blushed slightly before waving quickly and going towards her friends, letting out a groan as Ino almost tackled her to the floor. Itachi chuckled, then turning towards his friends, muttering a few curse words under his breath.

* * *

Yeah, I know that Itachi is pretty much OOC, but hey, my fanfic! XD Anyway, hope you enjoyed it! 


	2. The Call

Author's Note: Within one night, I received three reviews from people wanting me to either make a sequel or continue the story. So, while I also work on my story Emerald Dreams, Onyx Fantasies, I'll work on this one as well, probably updating every other chapter on both stories. Some chapters will be songfics while others will be just normal narration. But either way, please enjoy!

And now, I'd like to dedicate this story to AkatsukiDEMONangel, gaara's hope, and MusicLuva for their reviews that convinced me to do this. Hope you three like it, and everyone else as well!

Chapter 2: The Call

"Thank you -hic- for taking us home," Tenten said, feeling a bit tipsy from her drinking. "Yeah. Night Tenten. Sober up," Sakura said, driving off as her friend closed the door. She sighed and shook her head. _'Next time, we're making Ino be the driver. I'm not going to deal with her drunken ass screeching more than twice in a row,'_ she thought, turning the corner towards her apartment.

* * *

"What the hell were you doing with Sakura!?"

Itachi sighed as he looked up at his angry little brother now standing in his doorway. "She had a cherry coke, I had a small drink, and we danced. What business is it of yours?" he asked as he closed the book he was enjoying a few seconds ago. "Stay away from her!" Sasuke yelled, hands balled into fists and a look in his eyes that meant he was ready to punch something.

"Why does it matter to you? She's not your girlfriend anymore."

"I don't care! I won't let her go out with anyone like you!"

"You can't control her. She's not yours, Sasuke. You have that Karin girl now. Too bad."

"Bastard," Sasuke seethed, earning another sigh from his brother. "It's your fault. You didn't respect her morals," Itachi said as he approached the doorway. He grabbed the handle and began to push it closed, "Like I said, you let an angel go. Quite a shame."

He closed and locked the door, then returning to his book while ignoring the yells and screams from his brother outside.

* * *

"I'm home," Sakura called out to her nearly-empty apartment, smiling as she heard the jing-a-ling of bells coming down the hall and the sight of orange tabby fur coming out from dim light. A meow came in response and Sakura laughed, picking up the pet.

"Hey Tenshi. Were you a good girl tonight?" she said, giving the cat a kiss on the head before placing her on the floor. She removed her shoes and placed them down by the door, following her cat as she walked on into the living room, jumping onto the couch next to where Sakura would sit. "Heh, all right, I get the hint. I'll go to bed a little later," she said as she made her way over to the couch, sitting and laying back while Tenshi climbed on her and resting on her chest.

"You won't believe it, but today I met Sasuke's older brother," Sakura told her cat as she ran her hand over her head, "His name is Itachi. It's funny; Sasuke never told me about him before. Well, either way...they are so different! Itachi's actually a gentleman while Sasuke is just plain perverted. I mean, Sasuke would compliment me, but it was only on how I looked and stuff, and afterward he would be wanting to make out or something like that. But Itachi just complimented me. That's it. That's all he did, and I'm glad. VERY glad that he was thinking with his head, not his dick."

Tenshi purred, burying herself on Sakura's chest. "We danced too. To that song I was listening to non-stop the other day. Into The Night. Such a great song. Well, we decided to dance to it. And it was the most fun I've had in a very, very, VERY long time! Well...we didn't just dance either. We sang a bit too, but that's because of the song. But we were getting pretty damn close. And by that I mean we were right against each other, and if we didn't have clothes it would be considered skin-on-skin. Oops, dirty talk. Sorry Tenshi," she said as she laughed with apologies to her cat.

"Either way, we were still close. We were flirting too, and actually...we kissed too. We probably would've done it twice, if Sasuke and the whore didn't interrupt us the first time. But...damn. Itachi's a good kisser, and a lot gentler than Sasuke. I actually like his kisses over Sasuke's."

Sakura sighed, chuckling afterward as she saw Tenshi sleeping, "He gave me his number...I'll try and call him tomorrow, if I'm not too wiped out from work tomorrow." She yawned, pulling her sleeping cat off her chest. "Come on, Tenshi...let's actually go to bed," she said, walking off to her bedroom with the tabby purring again in her arms.

* * *

_'Let's see how many people called today. If no one did, it would be a first.'_

Sitting outside of her workplace, a restaurant called Ichiraku's, she flipped open her phone to find three voice mails awaiting her. "Oy. Best be good, and none of them better be from Sasuke or Ino," she muttered.

_First Message -_

"_Hey Sakura-chan, it's Naruto! Just want to say thanks for getting Hinata-chan home safe last night. Sure, she wasn't as drunk as she told me that Tenten and Ino were, but still. And thanks for trying to defend me; I'm not a freaking pervert damn it! Anyway, I was just calling to see if you would like to join us for dinner tonight. Call me when you get the chance; I'll be home all day watching Hanabi. Bye!"_

Sakura laughed slightly, "I'll call him back in a few minutes. Dinner sounds great actually."

_Second Message -_

"_Sakura, it's me. Look...sorry about last night. I didn't want to get all in your face and shit, but damn it, you shouldn't be having contact with my brother! Stay the hell away from him, Sakura. He's going to end up hurting you. Trust me. Call me. We need to actually talk about this. Bye._

"Yeah right, Sasuke. Like I believe anything you say. You told me that Neji was going to hurt me, and look at that! He and I are just peachy-keen friends. Idiot," Sakura said, a bit of anger in her voice.

_Third Message -_

"_Hey Sakura. It's Itachi. Yeah, I made the first call. Anyway, I was curious if you wish to do something on Saturday, if you're not busy. I have the evening off, surprisingly, and it would be nice to get to know you some more. Hopefully without my foolish brother interrupting us. Please let me know when you get the chance. Good bye._

Sakura smiled, a small chuckle in her voice. "It would be nice indeed. You have yourself a date then," she said to herself, her fingers now pushing the buttons to make her first call of the day.

"_Hello?"_

"_Hey Naruto! It's Sakura-chan."_

"_Oh hey! What's up?"_

"_Nothing much. Just on my break. I got your message, and I'd love to come over for dinner. I get off at 6:00 today, so I'll be there around 7:00?"_

"_Sounds great! Hinata-chan should be home around 6:30, so dinner should be almost ready by the time you get over here."_

"_All right. Thank you for the invitation."_

"_Of course! Oops, I think Hanabi broke another plate."_

"_God dang it!"_

"_Strike that, she did. Well, gotta go. Have fun with work!"_

"_Gee, thanks. Heh, bye Naruto."_

Sakura only shook her head, a smile crossing her face. "Sounds like fun over there," she said, now digging through her purse to find the piece of napkin with Itachi's number. "Where did I put that thing...ah, here it is," she muttered softly, pulling it out and looked at the number as she plugged it into her phone. She waited patiently through the rings, hoping that he would pick up instead of having to leave a message.

"_Hello?"_

"_Hey, Itachi. It's Sakura."_

"_Ah, hello Sakura. How are you?"_

"_I'm fine. Taking a well needed break from work."_

"_Same with me. I hope you're not dealing with hungover idiots."_

"_No. Ino did the smart thing and stayed home."_

"_Heh, I see."_

"_Yeah. Well, I got your message, and yes I'd love to join you on Saturday. I have the day off myself actually, so I don't have anything going on."_

"_That's good. Then would you be able to join me for dinner around 7:00?"_

"_Sure, that's great!"_

"_Heh. I'll pick you up then, if you can tell me your address."_

"_Sure. I live at Leaf Commons, the third building, apartment 12. Do you need directions there?"_

"_No, I know where it is. I had to drive past there several times to drop off one of my drunken friends."_

"_I see. Well, I guess I'll see you on Saturday."_

"_Yes. I hope you have a good rest of the day at work."_

"_Thank you, I'll try. Good bye Itachi."_

"_Good bye Sakura."_

Inwardly, Sakura giggled, _'Wow, I actually have a date for once, and not one that involves going back to an apartment to spend three hours making out.' _She stared at her phone, contemplating calling Sasuke to yell at him for what he said, but decided against him. _'If he bugs me anymore, then I'll do it. But for now, I rather not have the rest of the day ruined because of his annoyance,'_ she thought, putting her phone away, _'Besides, knowing him, he's probably with his whore and as the sweetheart I am, I don't want to disturb him.'_ She chuckled darkly as she slipped her purse back on her arm and reentered the building, readying herself for another few hours of work.

* * *

Okay, so here's the end of the chapter! Yeah...

As you can see, I decided to use some references to different things in the show itself (like Ichiraku), but it's still AU. Hey, it's my fic; I can do that. XD Anyway, I'll post the next chapter soon. But for now, ja ne!


	3. Diners and Movies

Author's Note: At this time, I'd like to say that I don't own the song Neverending Story by Within Temptation.

Chapter 3: Diners and Movies

"Sakura-chan, I've been meaning to ask...who was that guy you were dancing with at the club last night?"

Sakura nearly spat up her drink, the question coming as a slight surprise.

She was currently in the company of Naruto and Hinata Uzumaki, along with Hinata's little sister Hanabi, who was staying with them while her father was out of town. "Hmm, a guy? Sakura-chan, who was it?" Naruto asked, his curiosity perked as well while Hanabi peacefully ate and acted like nothing was going on.

Sakura took another drink before placing her cup down. "I didn't know you saw us, Hinata-chan," she said with a small laugh.

"Well...it was better than watching Ino-chan get drunk."

"True, although she can be entertaining when she is...but his name is Itachi Uchiha. He's Sasuke's older brother."

"Wait, you danced with his older brother!?" Naruto exclaimed, "That's a little messed up, Sakura-chan. I mean, he's related to that bastard ex of yours." Sakura shook her head, "I know, but...he's a lot different than Sasuke. He's actually a gentleman, not pressuring me or anything. Hell, when Sasuke caught us at the club and I called Karin a whore, and damn it she deserved it, he got me away from the situation. Well, after tripping the bitch."

The two adults looked at their friend, ignoring Hanabi's small burp and her quick apology afterward. "Well...at least not all Uchihas are bad," Hinata said.

"Sasuke's parents aren't bad either. Just Sasuke."

"Yeah, I guess. But Sakura...just be careful alright? You kinda treading on thin ground with knowing Itachi. And especially since Sasuke hates his guts."

"I sort of figured that when he came up and tried to pull us apart. I didn't really know anything about him, since Sasuke never mentioned him, and he would never allow his parents to mention anything that involved him."

"I see," Hinata said, taking a bite of her rice, then smiled at her pink hair friend, "I'm glad that he made you happy though." Sakura giggled as Naruto smiled despite chopsticks in his mouth. "Yeah, he did. And he made me happy today too. He actually called me when I was at work and asked me out for Saturday," she said.

This time it was Naruto's turn to start and choke, while Hinata looked at her curiously. "And what did you say?" she asked, ignoring Hanabi's try at stopping her uncle's little problem.

"Well, I said yes. What, did you actually expect me to say no?"

"Well, no, but still...well, either way, I hope you have fun!"

Sakura shook her head with a small sigh. _'I'm glad that they care and such, but do they have to freak out this much? Sheesh...they are worse with me on this than they were when Ino and Temari were fighting over Shikamaru back in high school,'_ she thought, turning her attention back to her food and inwardly trying her best to not laugh at Hanabi's lecture at Naruto.

* * *

"And where are you off to tonight, Itachi? It's not everyday you dress this nice on a day off."

"Ooo, I bet I know...you have a date tonight don't you?"

Said man turned and glared at his amused parents, then turning away to grab his sweater. "As a matter of fact, yes I do," he said. Sasuke glared at him, eyes full of anger as he inwardly cursed him, knowing full well who his date was.

"I knew it," Mikoto said with a bright smile playing her lips, "So, are you going to tell us who?" "It's none of our business, Mikoto," Fugaku said, eyeing her from behind his newspaper. Itachi smirked, "Not now. Maybe later. Right now, I have to go. I told her I'd pick her up at 7:00." He looked at the clock. 6:42.

"Aww. Well, I hope things will go all right then."

"Hn. Good bye, Mother, Father," he said, then looking over at Sasuke, "Sasuke."

Sasuke glared as Itachi turned away, his red eyes now looking towards the door than to him. _'Bastard...I won't let you take Sakura away from me. She is mine damn it,'_ he said, going back to the book he was reading, although with a lack of concentration than before.

* * *

"How do I look, Tenshi?"

She only meowed at her mother, making Sakura laugh as she looked herself over in the large mirror. She smiled, finding no flaws in her outfit. It was simple, yet was a little classy: a mulberry-colored shirt with sleeves that ended just shortly past her elbows and a dark green skirt that ended slightly above her knees. She wore simple black boots and her hair was tied back in a black ribbon. "Hmm...good enough," she said, "Now for a little bit of make-up. Well, just eyeshadow. Only damn thing I can ever stand of the blasted beauty trap."

Just as she dug out her little case of said make-up, a buzz came from her apartment's intercom. She dropped the case on her vanity and went to answer it.

"Hello?"

"It's Itachi."

"Okay, hold on; I'll buzz you in."

She pressed a small button on the device, then turned around to grab her jacket from the pantry/coat closet in the kitchen. As quickly as she closed the door to the closet, a knock rang throughout the room, and she quickly walked to answer it.

"Good evening, Itachi."

"Good evening, Sakura."

"Please, come in. I'm almost done getting ready, so could you wait a few minutes?" she asked, moving for him to enter. He nodded to her as she closed the door. "Feel free to make yourself at home," she said, turning around and going quickly to her bedroom. He watched her disappear, then smirked as he sat down on her couch, his eyes looking around, taking in the new surroundings that made up her home.

He could easily tell she loved soft colors, judging by the pale blue pain on her walls and the large picture of a cherry blossom tree hanging above her TV. On a shelf that was just under the picture was an assortment of photos in frames. He almost laughed at the fact that only one of them had Sasuke in it, and that was one from when they were teens in high school. _'If she had any of them as a couple, I'm sure they are long gone and burned with the trash,'_ he thought, looking around some more at the room.

That was until he felt something jump on his lap, followed by a meow.

_'She owns a cat?'_ he thought, looking down at the tabby furball that was looking curiously up at him. Sakura came out a few moments later, purse in hand, and laughed. "I guess you met Tenshi. Get off of him, sweetie," she said, placing down her purse and grabbing the cat into her arms.

"Sorry about that. She was just saying hello though; Tenshi just adores company from anyone that comes in here."

"I see that. Cute little cat you have. And you named her Tenshi."

"Yeah," Sakura replied with a small, uneasy laugh in her voice, "That's because when I got her, she was the little angel in the box." He smirked, petting Tenshi on the head as he stood up. "Perfect name for her then," he said. Sakura smiled, placing her on the floor, "Now you be good while we're out, Tenshi." She seemed to understand as she trotted off to the bedroom, resting on her bed.

Sakura sighed as she shook her head, then turned to Itachi. "Are you ready then?" she asked, grabbing her purse again and pulling out her keys. He nodded, already going towards the door to open it for her. She laughed, "Such a gentleman. Thank you sir." He smirked as he mocked her in his reply, "You're quite welcome, madam."

* * *

"So what can I get you two this evening?"

"Um...a cheeseburger with fries and a cherry coke for me please."

"And you sir?"

"Cheeseburger with fries, and decaf coffee please."

"All right. Be back soon with your meal."

As the waitress disappeared, Sakura smiled, enjoying the music that was playing around her. Being that it was considered a teen's hangout during the summer, the place was full of the popular songs, and she liked how even the most mature and eldest of the adults weren't complaining about the harder rock song that was currently playing over the speakers.

They were currently sitting at a diner called Sarutobi's, named after the deceased grandfather of its owner. It was originally meant to be a small cafe for people to sit and chat on a rainy day, but soon enough it became a popular hot-spot for teens out on summer break, and went from being a cafe to a diner for everyone to enjoy. On many occasions Sakura went here with her friends when she was in high school, and even sometimes more during her first few years in college. However, since her third and final year, she hasn't entered the place, and was surprised by the changes that were made since that time three years ago.

"I assume you used to come here."

"Yeah, back when I was a teenager, and when I was in college. But I haven't stepped in this place since I graduated, about three years ago."

"I see," he said with a chuckle, "To tell the truth, I haven't been in here often myself in a few years. A pleasant thing, isn't it?" Sakura nodded, her ears picking up the familiar, light beat of the newest song playing.

"Hmm...a good song."

"What is it?"

"Neverending Story. It's a beautiful song. I used to sing it a lot of times when it was really popular."

She laughed at the memory, "Ino-chan and I used to fight over who sung it better. We never were able to settle it, since whenever we had people vote, it always came to a tie." Itachi chuckled himself, "I'm sure you would've won if I was there." Childishly, she stuck out her tongue, "But you weren't, so nyeh. Besides, you've never heard either of us sing, so you can't vote."

He smirked, "Well, if I compare yours to hers when she was drunk, I can already say you won." Sakura smiled, listening intently to the song, "Well, when my favorite part comes up, I'll sing it for you and you can decide from there." Silently he agreed, and Sakura waited for the music to crest to her favorite part of the lyrics.

At last, she parted her lips to start.

_We're part of a story, part of a tale  
_

_We're all on this journey  
_

_No one is to stay  
_

_Where ever it's going  
_

_What is the way?  
_

_We're part of a story, part of a tale  
_

_Sometimes beautiful and sometimes insane  
_

_No one remembers how it began_

Sakura looked at him after she finished, her face lightly tinted a shade of red, and looked away with a shy smile on her lips. "Well, um...did I win?" she asked softly. Itachi stared at her for a moment before reaching out his hand, his fingers brushing against her cheek, "I told you won before. But you definitely confirmed it. You have a very beautiful voice, Sakura." She looked up at him with slightly surprised emerald eyes, then smiled softly as his fingers pulled away. "Thank you," she said quietly, her attention then turning towards the waitress that had arrived with their food.

* * *

"That was so much fun. Thank you so much for taking me out tonight, Itachi."

"I had just as much fun, Sakura. I should thank you for the good company."

She smiled as she dug out the keys to her apartment out of her purse. "Would you like to come in for a cup of tea before you go? It is cold out there, and a warm cup of tea is just what keeps the cold away," she offered. Itachi nodded with a small smile, "I would like that. Thank you." She turned away from him at that moment, inserting the key into the lock and opening the door. "Tenshi, I'm home," she called out, hearing the jingle bells from his collar coming from down the hall. "Is that your way of letting her know you're home?" he asked, taking off his sweater that was now making him feel too warm.

"Yeah. That, and I like hearing the little jing-a-ling of the collar when I walk in. Kinda breaks up the quiet, you know?"

"I wouldn't really know actually; my place is always too loud."

"I see."

As she took off her shoes, she gave a quick kiss to Tenshi before heading off into the kitchen. "What kind of tea do you want?" she yelled, her hands already reaching under the cabinet for her kettle. "Lemon, please," he said, following suit with his shoes and sitting down on the couch.

Sakura joined him a few moments later, "All right, the water's boiling. Now to wait. And I don't dare watch it." Itachi chuckled, "A watched pot never boils."

"Exactly. Oh, hey Tenshi!" Sakura said as she sat down, already greeted by her tabby furball, "You were a good girl when I was gone, right?" A simple meow was her answer and Sakura laughed as she gave her another kiss.

Itachi smirked, then looked around the room. "You live alone, don't you?" he asked. "Yeah. Hinata used to live here with me before she married Naruto and moved out. So now it's just Tenshi and me," she replied, petting her now purring cat, "But it's not all bad...at least I can enjoy quiet evenings at home. I always love coming home from work and being able to rest comfortably without a lot of noise."

He watched her eyes look down, her lips forming a small, sad smile as she brushed her hand over Tenshi, who was perfectly contented now in her owner's lap. He frowned slighly, "It must be lonely though, not having anyone around." She looked up at him and kept that same smile, "Yeah, but sometimes I like it. It gives me the time to think and be grateful for what I have despite it."

He gave her a small, ghostly smile before looking over by the TV, noticing the high shelf of tapes and DVDs. "You like to watch movies, huh?" he asked, making her attention go towards the shelf.

"Yeah. I love to watch movies and such when there's nothing on TV. Sometimes there's nothing better than watching a movie, eating popcorn, and sipping a soda on a cold or rainy evening."

"I see. I usually never have time for things like that. It's hard to keep up a business, you know."

"Yeah, I can probably imagine. It must suck sometimes, huh?"

"I guess you can say that, but like you I enjoy the evenings I have off, even if I'm having to deal with my family on top of that."

He looked the shelf over, noticing the wide variety of movies she had. Sakura smiled, a happier smile this time, "One time when you have the time off...would you like to have dinner here and have a quiet night-in and watch a movie with me? I got plenty, and it would be a lot better than going out to eat at a somewhat noisy diner."

He looked over at her then, a little taken aback by her offer, then smirked and leaned back. "I'd actually like that a lot," he said. She giggled, then stood up, placing Tenshi in her place, and going to the kitchen to check on the water.

* * *

"Thank you very much for the tea."

"Anytime."

Itachi placed on his sweater and shoes as Sakura placed their empty cups in the sink. "I guess I'll see you later then, Sakura," he said as he opened the door. She nodded, then smiled, a little bit of sneakiness in her eyes.

"Wait a second," she said, making him freeze. Gently as she could, she placed her lips on his quickly, then pulled back. "That's for the wonderful evening," she said softly. He chuckled, leaning in to place a kiss of his own on hers. "And that's for good night," he whispered as he pulled away. She laughed slightly, her cheeks flushed, "Good night Itachi."

"Good night, Sakura," he replied as he walked out, leaving her to close the door. As she did, she smiled brightly and looked over at her approaching cat. "You know what Tenshi? I hope later comes sooner than we think," she said, picking her up, "Come on...it's time for bed."

* * *

Yes, there's a lot of cute fluff in this chapter. But I hope I didn't make Itachi seem too much OOC. Ah well, my fic. Well, until the next chapter, ja ne! 


	4. Confrontation

Author's Note: Wow, 22 reviews and I'm only on the 4th chapter! That's a record that beat the review number together for the first 4 chapters of my story Scars and Tears. Yay! Thank you so much for breaking a goal in my story...thing. XD Anyway...here's the next chapter. Forgive me for the delay; I was busy the last four nights with doing some volunteer work at my old high school with my brother.

Chapter 4: Confrontation

"Good morning! Welcome to Ichiraku's! How may I help you today?" Sakura asked sweetly to her new pair of customers, her notepad in hand ready to jot down an order.

Once again, another peaceful and busy morning filled up the restaurant, and the pink hair waitress was working her hardest to fill the orders of the six tables of customers she was assigned to. On the other side, she could hear Ino's loud, hyperactive voice call out the orders that were just given to her, and she only sighed through a somewhat tired smile.

The door rang again, and the new customer sat down at Sakura's table six. With a nod of acknowledgment towards her current table, she flipped a page in her book and walked over to the other table, stopping a few feet away from it as soon as she saw who was sitting there.

"Sasuke..."

"Good morning Sakura. I'm sure you already know my order."

She tried her best to keep down her anger, "Yes, I do. Hashbrowns, two pancakes, and a regular coffee."

"Ah, but you forgot joining me."

Her lips formed the sincerest, fake smile they could, "Sorry, but not today. I'm busy, if you can't tell. I'll be back soon with your order." She started to turn away, notepad now in the pocket of her apron, until she felt a hand grab tightly to her wrist and pull her back. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" she said lowly, emerald eyes now glaring with anger. "We need to talk," he replied in all seriousness, ignoring the death glare she was giving him.

"There's nothing we need to talk about, so if you could let me go so I can go back to my work, that would be--"

"There is something we need to talk about, and you freaking know it."

"The only thing we need to talk about is you letting go of my wrist. So let go."

"No. Not until we talk about you and my brother."

"It's none of your damn business what goes on between Itachi and I, so stop putting your nose in it!" she yelled, pulling away from him with as much force as she could. He stood up, walking after her as she moved her way through the aisle, grabbing her when she came into a good distance. "Stop seeing him, Sakura! You're my girl, not his!" he yelled, his grip on her arm tightening. "Excuse me!? You cheated on me with that damn whore Karin, and then you tell me that I'm _yours_? Are you freaking insane!? Let me go right now!" she screamed, her words a little cringed as his nails dug into her skin.

By now, most of the restaurant's attention went to the fighting pair. Ino finally took notice, the yelling now breaking her concentration on work and the music that was playing, and promptly glared and walked over. "What the hell are you doing, Sasuke!?" she yelled, pulling her friend out of Sasuke's grip. "Stay out of this, Ino. It's none of your business," Sasuke replied.

"Oh, and the things going on between Itachi and I are? Get the heck out of here!" Sakura yelled, brushing down her now messed up apron and turning around with Ino towards the kitchen.

That was, until Sasuke pulled her back, bringing her too close to him for her personal comfort. "You actually believe that I was going out with her? Trust me, I wasn't. It was all an act so she could make the guy she liked jealous," he said. Sakura glared, her fist clenching and her anger rising higher, "Oh, so the whole running off because I didn't have sex with you, then I find you making out and practically humping her was all just an act? Yeah, I believe that. Get the hell away from me, you disgusting jealous pervert!"

Sasuke raised a hand, his anger now getting in the way of his judgement, ready to slap her for her comment until someone else grabbed his wrist. He turned around to meet a man with white eyes and dark brown hair, tied back into a simple ponytail. "And what were you just thinking about doing?" he said calmly, distracting the Uchiha enough for another man with red triangles on his cheeks and his brown hair in a shaggy mess to pull Sakura out of the situation she was in.

"Neji, Kiba!"

"Hey Sakura-chan. I see that the guys are still chasing after you."

"Ugh...pervert."

"Oh, hey Ino."

"You should stay out of things that don't concern you, Hyuuga," Sasuke said with a low growl. "Anything involving pain to my friends is my concern, Uchiha. Now go and leave Sakura alone," Neji said, letting go of his wrist but his eyes still glared into the angered onyx.

"Fine. But we are still going to talk about this, Sakura."

"No, we're not, Uchiha."

With a dark glare towards the woman, then to the people surrounding her, he turned and left, not caring about almost knocking down the blonde man that just entered the place. "Wow. His service must have been bad, yeah," he said, shrugging then and taking a seat at the table the Uchiha was sitting at. The restaurant seemed to have calmed down, and Sakura let out a calm sigh of relief. "Thanks guys. I'm really grateful for that," she said. Kiba flashed her a smile while Neji nodded his head. "Of course. Now, if you excuse us, we have to check in for work," Neji said, turning and walking towards the kitchen with Kiba in tow.

Sakura turned towards Ino, pulling out her notepad, "Can you place up these for me while I take the new customer's order?" She nodded, taking the pages and turning around towards the kitchen while Sakura walked over to the table, making sure to straighten out her apron as she did.

"Hello and welcome to Ichiraku's! How may I help you?" Sakura asked, pulling out her pen. The man looked up from the menu that was on the table already, and a blonde eyebrow quirked up, "Hey, is your name Sakura, yeah?"

"Yes. How did you know?"

"So you're the girl Itachi was talking about, yeah."

"Hmm? You know Itachi?"

"Yep. He's one of my friends and co-workers, yeah," the man said with a large smile, "The name's Deidara. Pleased to meet you." Sakura smiled as she held out her hand, "Pleased to meet you as well." Deidara took her hand and shook it in their greeting. "Glad to meet the woman that has caught his attention. I always thought that he was gay, yeah," he said, almost making Sakura laugh out loud. She only chuckled, "Well I guess he proved you wrong. But anyway...can I take your order?" Deidara chuckled as well, "Decaf coffee, french toast, and eggs over easy."

"Got it. I'll bring it to you as soon as it's done."

"Look forward to it. I want to see if the food here lives up to the hype I've heard, yeah."

"Oh, and who recommend you to come here?"

"Who else? Itachi."

* * *

Yeah, Sasuke's a little jealous jackass, isn't he?

As a note, I'm not anti SasuSaku (I love that pairing just as much as I love KabuSaku!), but I like to make Sasuke seem like a jerk. It's about as much fun as constantly calling Orochimaru a boy-loving pervert!

Anyway, until the next chapter, ja ne!


	5. An Unexpected Visitor

Chapter 5: An Unexpected Visitor

"Come on, Sakura! It's been forever since we had an all girls' night in! And your place is the only one big enough, and you have all the good movies and--"

"I got it, I got it! Sheesh...calm down Ino!"

Sakura rubbed her aching temples as the blonde rambled on, trying her best to ignore the loud shrills that were coming from her friend. "Okay, will you shut up Ino-pig!?" she finally yelled, leaning back in the booth's seat, "You're starting to give me a headache."

"Oh, sorry Billboard Brow!"

"Haha, nice sarcasm. Anyway...fine, this weekend we can have a night in unless something changes, all right?"

"Awesome! I'm calling up Tenten and Hinata now!"

"I'll tell Hinata tonight. I'm going over there to watch Hanabi."

"All right then. I'll just tell Tenten then."

Sakura sighed, a small smile on her lips.

* * *

"Thank you for being willing to watch Hanabi for us tonight."

"It's not a problem Hinata-chan. I don't mind it at all."

Hanabi smiled, grabbing Sakura's hand for emphasis, "I like Sakura. She's a lot of fun to hang out with, sister." Naruto and Hinata both smiled at that, then waved and took their leave. As soon as they were gone, Sakura turned to the young Hyuuga. "So...what's the real story?" she asked, a small smirk playing her lips. Hanabi only smiled, "That's a secret. But I'll say this. It's not just going out to a dinner party with Mister Jiraiya and Miss Tsunade!"

They both laughed at that, then entered the apartment, Hanabi already taking her quick spot by Sakura's movie shelf.

* * *

"Let me guess...another bowl of cheese popcorn and a cup of cherry coke?"

Hanabi smiled brightly as she held out the empty bowl and cup to the now standing Sakura. With a small shake of the head and a playful sigh, she took the items from the small girl's hand and brought them to the kitchen. "You're lucky I love you!" she yelled mockingly. "I love you too Sakura-chan!" Hanabi replied in the same tone, then laughed at something funny on the movie they were watching.

_'She's so cute!'_ Sakura thought, taking the clip off the orange bag of cheese popcorn and pouring more into the bowl before closing it again.

Just as she grabbed the bottle of soda from the fridge, a buzz came on the intercom. "Hmm? Who could be coming now? Hinata and Naruto said they weren't coming back until tomorrow," she said aloud, going towards the front door.

"Hello?"

"Hey Sakura."

"Itachi?"

"Yeah."

"Um, hold on. I'll buzz you in."

"Itachi? Isn't that the guy you've been going out with?" Hanabi asked from the couch, her white-lavender eyes looking up from the TV to the woman that waited by the front door, waiting for the sound of footsteps coming towards the door. "Yeah...I wonder why he's here," she replied, opening the door up when she heard the light rapping on the wood, "Hey Itachi. What brings you here?"

"I decided to come in for a surprise visit."

Sakura smiled, chuckling slightly as he smirked. "Well, come on in. But beware, I have a little monster with me tonight," she said.

"I heard that!"

"You were supposed to."

Itachi looked towards the couch, seeing the young girl sitting there with curious eyes scanning him, "Ah. Is this the "monster"? She's a little too cute for a monster." Hanabi blushed as she turned away, making Sakura laugh. "No, Hanabi's a good girl. I'm watching her tonight while her sister and uncle are out. We're just watching movies though. I guess you would like to join us?" she asked, head cocked to the side and a hand resting on her hip.

"Well, I'm here, aren't I?"

"True. But you never told me why exactly. I'm sure there is more reason than just a "surprise visit" like you're telling me."

Itachi sighed, "I heard about what happened between you and Sasuke yesterday. I wanted to talk to you about it. Hopefully without eavesdropping ears." Hanabi stood up from the couch, "I got it. I'm going to get ready for bed then and talk to Tenshi. Call me when you're done." Sakura nodded as the young girl disappeared off to the guest bedroom.

Sakura motioned for him to follow her to the couch, pausing the video as they sat down to talk.

"So...how did you find out?"

"Deidara told me. He overheard your friend talk about it. Ino, I believe."

"Probably her. She got into it before Neji and Kiba did."

She leaned back on the couch, let out a huge sigh as she stared into the red-contacted eyes before her. "I can't believe him though. He first comes into the place, ordering the usual and trying to get me stay and talk, then as I refuse, he grabs me and tells me otherwise. Then he had the freaking nerve to yell at me, calling me his and all that crap, then goes to try and slap me. Which, if Neji wasn't there at the time, he would've done it. Damn bastard," she said, muttering the last part with a small, angered growl.

"He tried to slap you. Tsk, hasn't he learned to treat a lady better?"

"Apparently not. He's a stubborn, jealous jackass. He's been like that for who knows how long when it came to me. When I first met Neji, when Tenten first introduced him to Sasuke and I, he kissed the back of my hand in his greeting, mostly for a laugh, and he actually glared and started to push him away from me, muttering something about keeping away from his girl."

Itachi chuckled, leaning back on the couch like her. "I see. And his jealousy is now worse because of us," he said. "Yeah. He's still trying to call me his girl, and all I want to do is tell him to shut the hell off and drop dead. Which I thought I was getting that across yesterday," she said, brushing a hand through her hair, "I really hate him."

"I'm sure you're not the only one."

"Yep. Let's see...Neji, Kiba, Naruto, Hinata, Tenten, Ino--"

"Practically a list."

"Pretty much."

Itachi stared at her in all seriousness as she calmed down her smile. "If he keeps messing with you, let me know, all right? I don't want to hear about or see you get hurt by him," he said, a hand grabbing hers and making her stiffen slightly. She relaxed and smiled, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek, "Thanks for the concern." He smirked, letting go of her hand and looking over at the TV. "So...will you let me stay over and watch a movie?" he asked.

"Hey, you're here, aren't you? Hey, Hanabi, come back out! Let's finish watching the movie!"

* * *

It was close to 11:30 by the time their second movie ended. Hanabi was already sound asleep, her head resting on Sakura's arm. Itachi chuckled as he picked up the girl with ease for the woman to get up. "The guest room's this way," she said with a smile, leading the way down the hall.

They entered the lavender-colored room, dimly lit by a night light by the door, Sakura standing to one side of the bed as Itachi placed her down onto the soft mattress. Gently Sakura covered her up, whispering a good night as she did, then both exited the room to let her sleep peacefully.

"She's very cute indeed."

"Yes, she is. I love having her over; she's such a sweetheart."

He smiled very slightly at that, taking her hand in his to make her look up at him. She smiled brightly, despite tired emerald eyes staring up.

"Shouldn't you be going home? It is getting late."

"I should. By now, I'm sure Sasuke expects the worse."

"Heh, probably. Jackass."

He chuckled, leaning down to give her a quick kiss. "We should do this again sometime, but without a "monster" sharing the couch," he said, slipping on his sweater. "Yeah. You're bringing the Chinese," she said, a smirk playing her lips.

"Heh, I see. Well, is next Sunday good for you? I get off early."

"Hmm, I'll have to see about that. I don't have my schedule for that day just yet."

"I see. Well, let me know if you can."

"Of course."

She opened the door for him as he approached, "Good night Itachi." "Good night, Sakura," he replied, turning to go down the hall. Her heart beated a bit faster as she called out to him quickly.

"Itachi!"

He turned around, "Hmm?"

"Does this mean we're going out?"

He just laughed, "You didn't figure that out from the first call?"

She smiled as she disappeared inside her apartment, closing and locking the door. _'We're together officially then,'_ she thought, heading now to her room for bed.

* * *

Aww, fluffy ending! And Hanabi's so cute, isn't she?

Well, until the next chapter, ja ne!


	6. Girls' Night In

Chapter 6: Girls' Night In

"I'm going to make more popcorn!"

"Ack, Ino, will you lower your voice? You're starting to give me a headache."

"No more soda for you."

"Hey! No fair Billboard Brow!"

Sakura stuck out her tongue at her blonde friend, narrowly avoiding a pillow thrown at her head. Tenten sighed as Hinata giggled slightly, Hanabi scooting over to grab the pillow which she had claimed as hers.

"Okay, okay. Sorry, Ino. Go make popcorn. But still no more soda until you lower your voice a bit."

"Ugh, fine!"

Hanabi looked over at the shelf of movies and looked over it for a good chick flick to watch. "Hey, can we watch a movie soon?" she asked. "Well, first we have to play Truth or Dare," Tenten said, an evil gleam in her eyes. "Oh no," Hinata said softly, herself now avoiding a pillow thrown at her head.

"I like that idea!"

"Of course you do, Ino."

"Do I _have_ to play?"

"Yes you do because I said so."

"You're not my boss, Tenten-chan!"

Hinata sighed, "If you want to play, then you can. If not, you can either sit here and watch us make fools out of ourselves or find a movie and watch it." Hanabi pondered over that for a minute, then smiled and sat next to Sakura, "I want to watch you guys make fools out of yourselves." Sakura only laughed as she gave the girl a small hug.

Ino returned back a few minutes later, a new bowl of popcorn in hand. She placed it in the middle, then looked over at Tenten. "Hey Tenten...truth or dare?" she asked, a sly smile playing her lips.

"Hmm, dare."

"I dare you to prank call Neji."

"Too bad that won't work; Neji-kun lost his phone three weeks ago."

"No wonder why I haven't been able to contact him when he was late for work."

"Yeah."

Ino pondered for a moment, "Okay. Then prank call Kiba!" Tenten shrugged, "Okay. Where's the recorder?" Sakura pointed to a drawer under her side table. "It's in there, and the phone's over in the kitchen. As soon as you're done, come back and let's play the tape," she said, smiling in anticipation.

* * *

"Okay, Sakura. Your turn! Truth or dare?"

"Truth."

"Wimp."

"So?"

Hanabi looked up at the pink hair woman and stuck out her tongue. Deciding to play after awhile (mostly after watching Ino play DDR and failing miserably), she pondered her question, then smiled.

"Is it true that you're in love with Itachi Uchiha?"

The entire room went silent at that, eagerly waiting for Sakura's answer. She bit her lip, trying her best to say her answer and hope like hell that no one else decided to ask questions. "Um..." she started to say before an interruption came from her phone.

_'Save by the ring of Ayumi!'_ her mind yelled, grabbing the phone from on the stand, "Hello?"

"_Sakura?"_

"_Hey Lee. What's up?"_

"_I know this seems a bit sudden, but--"_

"_Ask her already!"_

"_I'm getting on it! Anyway..."_

Sakura grimaced,_ "Lee...please don't tell me that was Sasuke."_

"_Well..."_

"_Give me the damn phone!"_

"_Hey, what are you--"_

"_Sakura, what the hell!? You're actually with Itachi now!?"_

"_What business is it of yours?"_

"_Damn it, you're my girl!"_

"_I'm not your freaking girl! If I'm anyone's girl, I'm Itachi's."_

"_You can't be his girl! Damn it, Sakura—"_

"_Just shut up and go to hell, Sasuke. Don't talk to me again, and don't use Lee to try and get to me. Go and have sex with your whore, and leave me alone."_

With that said, ignoring any yell that came afterward, she closed the top of her phone and placed it on the table again with a small slam. She muttered a few curses under her breath as she turned away, grabbing a pillow and squeezing it against herself in an act to control herself from taking her anger out on one of the innocent girls or walls.

"Uh..."

"Just don't ask."

"Okay, okay! But you still need to answer the question."

Sakura sighed, closing her eyes in trying to keep her anger down and bring back out the calm that was around the room only minutes ago. She opened them a few moments later, releasing a sigh.

"It's not love until I hear it from his lips as well. For now, it's just very, very, very deep attraction."

Hanabi smirked, all the while keeping up her "cute and monstrous" image that Sakura always blamed her for having, "So you are in love with him?"

"Shut up, Hanabi."

* * *

So Sakura admits to having strong feelings for Itachi. Now to figure out his! Well, that's coming sometime soon. Until then, ja ne! 


	7. A Rivalry Sparked

Author's Note: Now that's Christmas is done and a few of my one-shot fics are finished and posted, it's about time I update this, huh? Well, here it is! Enjoy!

Chapter 7: A Rivalry Sparked

"I did not appreciate that, Uchiha!" Lee yelled, putting his phone back on the charger, "It's my phone and you have no right to do that." Sasuke didn't care; he was too wrapped up in angered thoughts to listen either way.

"Sakura's my girl."

"Obviously not. You need to let go," came the voice of Shikamaru from the living room, who was currently visiting Lee for their teaching game of shogi, "Sakura's found someone else now." "You don't get it, Nara! She's with my brother! He doesn't deserve her! He doesn't deserve to have her, especially when she's my girl and always will be," Sasuke yelled, a growl coming from his throat as he did. Shikamaru sat there unaffected. "You need to detach yourself from her. Sakura's found happiness in someone that won't cheat on her because they want the honor of having two girlfriends. Although, for you, it means having two girls you can screw at any point in time," he said, standing up and grabbing his jacket.

"I think we'll postpone our game for now, Lee. Right now doesn't seem to be the best time," he said, opening the front door, then looked over at the fuming Uchiha, "If you want my honest opinion, I'm glad she left and found a different kind of happiness. One that doesn't involve her morals being broken down one by one."

With that said, he left, closing the door behind him.

Ino felt her phone ringing, almost forgetting she had it in her pocket. She flipped it opened and motioned for Hinata to pause their movie.

"_Hello?"_

"_Hey Ino."_

"_Hey Shika-kun! What's up?"_

"_Nothing really. Listen, I just came from Lee's place. Best be careful of Sasuke. He's really fuming."_

"_We know. So is Sakura. Well, she was until we started the movie."_

"_I see. Can I talk to her for a moment?"_

"_Sure."_

Ino passed the phone over to Sakura, "He wants to talk to you." Sakura quirked up an eyebrow and brought the phone up to her ear.

"_Shikamaru?"_

"_Sakura?"_

"_Yeah. What's up?"_

"_All I want to say is congrats."_

"_Hmm? For what?"_

"_For getting out when you did."_

"_Oh."_

"_I'm actually glad you did. The last thing I, and everyone else, wants to see is you getting hurt by that cheating dickhead."_

"_Heh...and this is coming from the guy who found name calling to be troublesome."_

"_Meh. I'll make an exception. But that's all I wanted to say. You're damn awesome for a girl, you know that."_

"_Thanks Shikamaru. All right, I'll give you back over to Ino."_

Ino smiled as she took back her phone.

"_You definitely brought a smile to her face."_

"_Just told her the truth."_

"_I see...well, we have a movie to get back to, and we want to finish it before Hanabi goes off to bed."_

"_Ah. Well then. Good night then Ino. Love you."_

"_Love you too. Night Shika-kun."

* * *

_

"Hey Itachi! What's going on your mind, yeah?" Deidara asked, noticing how silent and lost his friend and colleague was in his own world. Itachi ignored him as he looked down at the papers he was supposed to be reading. "Yoo-hoo! Itachi? Are you going to answer, yeah?" the blonde asked. From his desk, Kisame sighed, "Leave him be, Dei. He's probably thinking about his girl."

Itachi looked over at him, "How do you know about her?" Kisame grinned, showing a bit of the "shark teeth" that he's been told to have. "I didn't, but now I know," he said, enjoying the glare he receiving, "So the all mighty Itachi Uchiha finally found someone? Took long enough. So who is she? What's she like, and most important of all, is she hot?"

Itachi groaned inwardly to the questions. "Her name is Sakura. She's an angel. And that's all you need to know," he said, turning back around to his papers. Deidara smirked, it a bit hidden behind the long section of blonde hair that covered half his face. "Oh, come on Itachi, yeah. Tell him the whole thing," he said, earning silence. The blonde shrugged and turned towards the still curious Kisame, "I gotta admit, she's a looker. I met her the other day. Itachi's lucky, yeah. She's a keeper to say the least, yeah." Itachi tried his best to ignore the chatter of the two as they talked about his girlfriend, but soon couldn't block out the noise.

"Shut up, both of you. It's none of your business."

He stood up from his desk, grabbing his cell phone and keys from the drawer he kept it in, and walked away, leaving his friends sitting there in silence...before going back to talk about Sakura.

* * *

Mikoto looked up from her book at the sound of the opening door. "Hmm? Itachi? You're home early. Finished work already?" she asked. He shook his head, taking off his black knit sweater, "I need to finish it tomorrow. My co-workers are being a pain in the ass." She smiled at her elder son, then looked back at her book. "I see. Well, I hope that tomorrow they won't be," she said, flipping a page. Itachi smirked, then turned towards the staircase. "Hopefully. Good night, Mother," he said.

Upstairs he found Sasuke leaned against the wall outside his room, glaring at him as he appeared. "What is it, Sasuke?" he said with a bit of irritation. "You're with Sakura, that's what," Sasuke said bluntly, "Why?"

"Is that any of your concern, little brother?"

"It's all of my concern! Sakura's my girl! You don't deserve her!"

"I believe it's the opposite way around. She doesn't deserve you. She doesn't deserve a man that cheats on her with a "whore" as she says, and that is overbearing and was even willing to slap her because she refused to come back to you."

"You--"

"That's enough, boys," Fugaku said, coming out from his room with a face of annoyance and anger. "What is going on out here?" he asked, demanding an explanation. Itachi smirked, "Sasuke's just jealous that he lost an angel and I gained one. That's all. Good night, Father, Sasuke." He disappeared into his room and locked the door, leaving a somewhat confused Fugaku and a fuming Sasuke outside.

* * *

"Thanks for coming over. Bye Tenten," Sakura said, waving to the last departing friend from her house. She turned around and examined the mess that was left behind in the wake of their girls night-in and she sighed. "Thank Kami for a day off. Well...best start," she said, staring at a bowl of popcorn, kernels strewn all over the floor, "You know Ino...the least you could've done was put them back on the bowl. Stupid midnight snacker."

Just as she finished sweeping up the mess of popcorn and candy on the floor (_'Thank you for easy to sweep hardwood!'_ she thought as she did.), her phone began to ring, vibrating on the table where she left it last night. She sighed, "That best NOT be Sasuke or else I'm going to be extremely pissed off." She quickly picked it up and flipped it open, _"Hello?"_

"_You don't sound like much of a morning person."_

"_Oh, Itachi! Sorry. I didn't get a lot of sleep last night; my friend Tenten kept kicking me in the head."_

"_Ah. A great slumber then."_

"_Yeah, hehe...so what's up?"_

"_For once, I've lost some the words to say. But my parents would like for you to join us tonight for dinner. They want to meet the girl that "stole my heart" as Mother had put it."_

"_Well...besides the fact they already met me, Sasuke will be there and after a little call I got last night from him, I'm not exactly thrilled to see him."_

"_A call?"_

"_Yeah. He used one of my friends to get to me and he went all crazy and crap calling me his girl and such. I told him to go to hell, but I doubt he'll listen."_

"_I see..."_

"_Please don't tell me you have something dark planning in your mind."_

"_No. But will you come?"_

"_Um...I guess I can. I don't have work tonight, so it's all right. But..."_

"_Don't worry about Sasuke, all right?"_

"_...All right. I trust you Itachi."_

"_Good. Great...Deidara's here. I have to go."_

"_Heh, all right."_

"_Be ready at 7:00, okay?"_

"_All right. See you then."_

"_Hn. Bye Sakura."_

"_Hehe, bye Itachi."_

Sakura folded her phone close and held it for a few moments before placing it back on the table. "This is going to be an...interesting evening," she said, shaking her head, "Tenshi, you can come out now. You know, you really need to stop going away whenever the phone rings. Ayumi is not that bad."

* * *

"Will you give us a hint as to who the girl is?"

"You already know her. That's all you really need to know."

"Hmph! You are very mean to your mother, Itachi!"

"Well, you know I like to keep surprises."

"Trust me, Mother, you already know her," Sasuke said, glaring angrily at his brother, "The only surprise here will be you and Father's faces when she comes through the door." Mikoto smiled and turned back towards her cooking. "I see. Well, I hope that it's that dear Sakura girl then. I swear, you can't find a woman better than her. Out of the girlfriends you've brought home Sasuke she was the best one. Too bad you two broke up," she said, hiding a bit of a smirk when she felt a surprised look that was on both men's faces. Oh, Mikoto is a clever woman indeed.

* * *

"I believe my mother already figured out who is coming over for dinner."

Sakura laughed, leaning back a bit in the seat, "Mrs. Uchiha is very clever. I learned that from some of the conversations we had. Your father is as well, although he didn't speak much. He preferred smirks, nods, and the occasional grunt." Itachi chuckled at the straightforward truth of that. "Yes. Father's not much of a talker, but he's still a good man," he said, turning down a street.

Sakura smiled, "Like father, like son then."

"Hn."

Soon enough the car stopped in front of the large Uchiha home. Sakura got out and shook out a few wrinkles in her skirt before taking Itachi's outstretched hand and walked inside. Already waiting was Mikoto, who held an all-knowing smile on her lips. "Hello again, Sakura," she said, then looked up at her son with a look that just screamed "I was right!" and an unheard laugh to match.

"Hmm? Sakura?"

"Hello again, Mr. Uchiha. It's a pleasure to see you again."

"Hn. So, Itachi, she's your girlfriend now?"

"Yes, Father. This is the angel."

Sasuke, sulking in the corner of the living room, glared at the pink hair "angel" as she took a spot on the couch, sitting in between Mikoto and Itachi. Fugaku folded his paper close and sat it down on the table. "I see," he said, "Good to see you again as well, Sakura." Mikoto smiled, "At least now we still have her as a part of the family." Sakura blushed a deep red, Fugaku and Itachi sighed, and Sasuke glared.

"Mother..."

"I was teasing. I did the same thing when you dated Sasuke, remember?"

"Yes...I remember."

Mikoto smiled, then looked over at her sulking son. "Sasuke, come over here and join the family!" she said. Sakura placed on her fake smile, "Yes, Sasuke. I'm not going to bite, you know."

Only three people in the room knew she was pretending, and herself was not part of the three.

* * *

"Once again, a delicious meal, Mrs. Uchiha. Thank you."

"Oh, Sakura, you don't need to answer with those honorifics! Just call me Mikoto, all right?"

"Oh...all right, Mikoto."

Sakura smiled as Mikoto's face lit up at the sound of her name coming from her lips. Itachi smirked and his father showed a ghost of a smile towards his cheerful wife. Sasuke tried his best to ignore it, preferring to stare at Itachi and Sakura, waiting for Itachi to do something wrong. However, like a perfect gentleman, he did nothing that Sasuke to attack on.

"Is anyone ready for dessert?"

"I am, Mother. Sakura?"

"Oh, yes, I am, please."

Mikoto smiled brightly again, enjoying the sweetness of the woman that she has inwardly hoped to become an official part of the Uchiha family. Sadly, the woman had big things in her mind that if said aloud in anything more than teasing would get her into a bit of trouble. "Honey, Sasuke, do you want dessert?" she asked, receiving two grunts in return. She took them as yes and, to the best of her ability, brought out five plates, each with a slice of cheesecake, and sat them down on the table.

"Mmm...you always seem to make the best cheesecake everytime I came over, Mikoto."

"I'm so glad to hear that!"

* * *

"Thank you for a wonderful meal, and a great evening, Mikoto, Fugaku."

"Hn. And thank you for the company."

"Please come back soon! We love having you here!"

Sakura smiled and chuckled a bit, "I may do just that." Itachi smirked as he took Sakura's hand in his. "I'll be back soon. Come on Sakura; best get you home before Tenshi goes crazy," he said, earning a pouting look from her. "Tenshi doesn't go crazy. She's a good kitty," she said, making Itachi chuckle.

"Good night then, Sakura."

"Good night, everyone."

"Hold it."

The occupants turned towards Sasuke, standing with arms crossed over his chest and a glare directed at Itachi. "Hmm, Sasuke? What is it?" Mikoto asked, hands on her hips and her eyebrow arched curiously. "Don't even think that I'm going to have you keep Sakura, Itachi. She's my girl and will be mine," he said. Itachi continued to smirk, giving Sakura a tight squeeze on her hand. "Foolish...you already lost your angel, and I gained mine. Let her go and move on, little brother," he said, pulling Sakura behind him before she had a chance to yell at Sasuke again.

* * *

So now the rivalry has made public among the family! Uh-oh...this isn't going to turn out well. But until the next chapter, ja ne! 


	8. A Month Gone By: Movie Night In

Chapter 8: A Month Gone By: Movie Night In

"I'll be leaving early tonight," Itachi said, not looking up at the two curious faces that were staring at him. "Why is that? You've never left early before. Well, other than the day when we were talking about your girl," Kisame said. Deidara just smirked, "I bet it has something to with her, yeah?"

"It's our month anniversary."

"A month? Nice celebration."

"Hey, no sarcasm from you. Remember how glad you were when you celebrated your one month with Sasori?"

Itachi chuckled as Deidara glared at his companion. "I wasn't excited over it, yeah. I was merely glad," he said. Kisame shrugged his shoulders, smirking at the blonde as he continued glaring. Itachi cleared his throat then, "Well, let's finish up our work. Maybe we call all leave early today, as long as you two don't act like idiots."

* * *

Sakura hummed as she brought another order of food to their respective tables, making her customers happy to see her smiling face. No one but her friends knew why she was so happy. It's been one month since she and Itachi became an official couple, and tonight they were going to have the movie night in they had planned for a long while. The last time they had it planned out, sadly Sakura was called into work, so instead they set it up for their special anniversary.

"You're really excited about this, huh?" Ino asked as they took their break, sitting down beside her as they sat down outside of the restaurant. "Yeah, duh! I mean, we've had this planned out for awhile, but the last time I got called into work, and other than the day he brought me to dinner with his family, he's been busy. So tonight he promised me that he was going to get off early, bring the Chinese for dinner, and we're going to spend the night watching whatever movies we feel like watching," Sakura replied, taking out her phone to check for messages. "Two messages today. Gah, will I ever have a day when I DON'T have one?" she asked out loud, making her friend laugh.

_First Message - _

_Hey, Sakura-chan, it's Naruto! Hinata-chan and I wanted to know if you and Itachi would like to join us for dinner sometime. We really want to know more about this guy, since teme never said anything about him. But that's up to you and him, I guess. Anyway, let us know. Bye!_

_Oh, and happy anniversary to both of you! Hinata-chan told me to tell you that._

Sakura smiled, "Silly Naruto. He and Hinata-chan wants to meet Itachi himself and have us over for dinner." Ino grinned at her, "Probably want to know if he's worth it for you, since you're dating another Uchiha." Sakura shrugged her shoulders as she listened to the next message.

_Second Message -_

_Hey blossom. Happy anniversary. Just called to tell you I'll be over around 7:30. And yes, I'll have the Chinese. See you this evening._

Sakura sighed happily as she closed the top of her phone, "Itachi's sweet." Ino continued to grin as she stood up, about to go back in and grab herself a well-needed lunch. "So I've heard. But come on, let's get something to eat. I'm not letting you starve yourself until your date begins," she said, enjoying the light tone of blush that was donning the blossom's cheeks.

* * *

"I can't believe that it's been a month already. It seems so much shorter. But then again, we haven't done much of anything since the night we had with his parents," Sakura said to Tenshi, who was sitting on her lap contently, purring loudly as a gentle hand brushed over her fur. "Tonight we're finally going to have our movie night-in. Sure, we kinda had one the night he came over when Hanabi was staying over, but that doesn't really count since she was here," Sakura continued, "But tonight he's bringing dinner and then we're going to sit down and watch a few movies. A nice night in, just like we both want."

A buzz came over the intercom and Sakura instantly sat up, putting Tenshi down on the couch as she stood up, going straight to the white box beside her door.

"Hello?"

"Food's here."

"Hehe, cute. Come on up. I'll have the door unlocked for you."

She pushed the button, unlocked her door, and went to the kitchen, grabbing out plates and glasses for their meal. She had begun to pull out a bottle of cherry coke to pour herself a glass when Itachi walked in, the bag of Chinese in one hand. "Hey blossom," he said, giving her a kiss as he placed the bag on the counter by the plates. "Hey Itachi. Happy anniversary," she replied, opening the bag to bring out their dinner. He smirked at her, going towards the video cabinet to grab out their movies as she set out the boxes.

"Hello Tenshi," Itachi said, barely having a chance to sit down by the cabinet before said cat jumped into his lap. Sakura laughed, "You know, she only seems to really attack you and Hanabi. Other than that, she would just rub against your leg as if to say "pet me" or something like that." Itachi chuckled, moving the cat from his lap gently, "Should I take that as a compliment?"

"Depends. Do you want to take a compliment based on a cat's behavior?"

"I really don't know."

"Then take it if you want."

Itachi shook his head with a chuckle, looking through the case. "Hey...have any horror films?" he asked, a small smirk creeping across his lips. He heard Sakura sigh at that question. "Behind the collection of Christmas films, second shelf. I have a few, but I'm only watching one," she said, pouring out some rice onto her plate.

"Fair enough," he replied, pulling out one of the movies that was hiding, "What do you want?" Sakura smirked, although unseen, "I'll pick it out when I get in there. You do know I'm going to pick out a chick flick, right?" A simple groan was her answer, making her laugh and drop the spoon that was meant for the sweet-and-sour sauce.

* * *

"You know...I kinda hate you right now."

"No you don't."

"I don't like horror movies...Eek!"

Sakura covered her eyes against Itachi's shoulder for the fifteenth time that night at least, making him chuckle yet again. "Then why do you have them?" he asked as she looked back at the screen before hiding her eyes again. "It was Naruto's fault. One time he and Hinata were over and we, along with Ino, decided to watch some of the movies he brought, and I was freaking out by the end of the third one. And as further torment, he made me keep them so whenever he came over he could watch them with me and whoever decided to join us," Sakura explained, looking back at the screen again.

"I see. And it looks like his plan worked."

"Regrettably. Eep!"

Itachi chuckled as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders, bringing her with to lay down a little more on the couch, "Big baby." Sakura glared at him, "Am not! I just...don't like horror films!" He shrugged his shoulders, a smirk gracing his lips as she continued to glare, then promptly "eep"ed and hid her face at the sight on the TV.

* * *

Sometime between the end of the horror movie and the start of whatever random movie they chose, Sakura drifted off silently to sleep, hands balled up into cute fists on his chest and even level breathing brushing against his hand. Itachi chuckled at the sight of the pink hair blossom sleeping so soundly, comfortably resting against him, an hand running through her soft hair. _'She's adorable when she's asleep. Innocent,'_ he thought, sitting up gently as if trying not to disturb her. She still slept, which made him chuckle again as he picked her up bridal-style, standing up and carrying her to the room he ultimately assumed (from the times he visited) was hers.

He laid her down on her bed, pink hair now spreading out slightly over her pillow, then took her blanket and brought it over her. Tenshi watched from her bed for a moment before laying her head back down, not gone unnoticed by Itachi's all-seeing eyes (or so he liked to believe). He smiled ever slightly before bending his head down and placing a small kiss upon her lips. "Good night, Sakura. I love you," he whispered against them as he pulled away, walking out the room to put away the leftover food and movies before he left.

He didn't see Sakura smile or hear her whisper "I love you too" in return.

* * *

Aww! Sweet confession! How CUTE! Well, Happy New Year everyone, and ja ne until the next chapter! 


	9. Accept The Fact

Chapter 9: Accept The Fact

"Sasuke, why can't you accept the fact that Sakura is happy with Itachi?"

"He doesn't deserve her. She was my girl first. He took her away from me."

"Probably because you decided to go off and cheat on her with a whore!"

"EXCUSE ME!?"

"You heard me!"

"Ino, Karin, stop it," Shikamaru said, "Troublesome women. Sasuke, give it up. Sakura isn't going to come back to you. Face it." Ino placed a fisted hand on her hip, "Exactly! She's perfectly content being with Itachi."

Karin sent Sasuke a suggestive smirk, "Besides, why would you want that ugly pinky when you could have me? You already liked it once." Ino glared at her, but kept her tongue with a forceful squeeze of the hand by Shikamaru. "Feh. You're nothing like Sakura. I rather have her over you," the Uchiha said coldly, earning a sad look from Karin and a proud grin from Ino.

"Aww...but Sasuke-kun..."

"Shut up."

Shikamaru sighed, "I know why you're fighting for her, Sasuke." All heads turned to the brown hair genius, one hand in his pocket and the other holding Ino's.

"You're just jealous of Itachi for having something you don't have. You threw Sakura away when she didn't break her moral of abstinence, and turned to the redhead bitch clinging on your arm. And now that Itachi has her, you want her back so there's one less thing he has. But that's not going to work, Sasuke. You already know that; you just can't accept it."

He turned around, pulling Ino with him and casting a sideways glance to him, "You just have to accept it, Uchiha. You have to accept the fact that Sakura loves him, and nothing you do can change that." Silence overcame them as he walked away with Ino in tow. Sasuke clenched a fist, shaking ever slightly in anger.

"Um, Sasuke-kun?"

"Shut up and go away. Damn redhead bitch."

"WHAT!?"

Sasuke pulled his arm away from Karin's grasp and began to walk in the opposite direction of Shikamaru and Ino, leaving the readhead standing there confused.

* * *

Sakura stretched her arms out, tired from carrying several heavy trays of food within a timespan of two hours. "Mmm...I can't wait to go home already, and I've only worked a third of my shift. Gah," she groaned, making the Hyuuga next to her chuckle. "You're not the only one. I'd like to go home myself, but we still have work to do," he said, leaning against the wall with hands behind his head.

"I already know why you want to go home."

"No talking about it."

"Aww, why not?"

"You're not supposed to know."

"Well, too late for that! Next time, keep the ring in a pocket that's actually closed on all sides!"

Neji glared at she smirked at him, enjoying her little tease. Sakura's smirk turned into a sweet smile, "Don't worry about it. I know Tenten will accept; she loves you more than anything, you know." Neji smiled (or what looked like a smile rather) at her, a hand now in the pocket was the new, temporary home for the ring he hoped will be shining on his girlfriend's finger that evening. "That's my hope. I assure you, Sakura, this is something a man isn't prepared for," he said, smirking at her, "Wait until Itachi tries to ask you."

"W-what!? Neji!"

"I'm playing. Your face is priceless."

"Ugh!"

Sakura looked away, her lips straight and pouty and her cheeks a deep pink, almost the shade of her hair. "I hate you," she replied. He only chuckled, "Love you too, Sakura."

* * *

"I knew it! You are in love with her, yeah!"

"Heh, way to go."

"Shut up, both of you. And how did you guys even figure this out?"

"We didn't. We just waited for you to say something about it, and you didn't deny it, yeah."

"...Shut up and get back to work."

* * *

Sasuke sat in his room, laid back on his bed with one leg crossed over the other and hands behind his head.

"_You just have to accept it, Uchiha. You have to accept the fact that Sakura loves him, and nothing you do can change that."_

Shikamaru's words rang through his head over and over, each time sounding worse. "Accept the fact...do you really expect me to believe that she's in love with him?" he asked aloud to no one.

He sat up at the sound of footsteps and Itachi's voice, giving him the knowledge that his brother was home and on the phone. _'More than likely with my Sakura,'_ he thought with anger, sitting on the edge of the bed and listening intently to the conversation going on.

"I'll have to let you know on that...Heh, all right. Be careful with that monster...Hello, Hanabi. Be nice to her...Heh, I see. Good night, blossom...I love you too. Night."

Sasuke's eyes widened at the sound of his words, _'So...it's true.' _He laid back on his bed, staring up at the ceiling.

"_...accept the fact that Sakura loves him..."_

"I see...well, then...I guess that changes everything, doesn't it? Well, I accept the fact, but..."

* * *

Haha, cliffhanger! Ah, I'm so evil; I haven't done one since I wrote Two Men And A Beautiful Cherry Blossom, so I just had to do one now.

Well, either way, until the next chapter, ja ne!


	10. Catching On

Author's Note: Haha, cliffhangers are so much fun! Sorry to all those I teased with my abrupt and humorous ending of my last chapter, but as I said, I just had to do one. Almost all of my stories have cliffhangers, and this one was no exception.

But anyway, here's the next chapter! There's a bit of a skip here, about a month or so.

Chapter 10: Catching On

"Oi, Sakura! Wake up already!"

"Man, she's a sound sleeper."

"You just noticed this? I've known since we were little kids."

"Well, sorry for not diving into Sakura's sleeping habits! Troublesome woman."

Sakura groaned at the sound of voices arguing around her. _'What a way to wake up,'_ she thought as she opened her eyes, seeing the faces of Ino and Shikamaru. "Ugh...what time is it? And most importantly why are you two here?" she asked, sitting up in her bed with another groan.

"Well, one, it's almost noon. Two, we came over to tell you some special news," Ino said overcheerfully, earning a sigh and a whispered trademark word under his breath. "Okay then...one, thank you for that. And two, what now?" Sakura replied, pulling back her covers and standing up, brushing a hand through bedhead locks and straightening out her wrinkled sleepshirt. Without words, Ino stuck out her left hand, making a notice to the fourth finger from the thumb.

Sakura noticed and smirked, "Finally, Shikamaru? Took you long enough!" Ino squealed with delight at Shikamaru's embarrassed face, "Yes he did! I'm so happy, so much that I dragged him here to tell you right away. Thankfully I still have the spare key you gave me from the last time you left town and I had to take care of Tenshi."

_'That explains how the hell they got in here,'_ Sakura thought as her smirk melted into a simple smile, "Congrats you two. Wow, two engagements in less than a month. Way too fast to keep up the excitement!" Shikamaru gave her a small smile, "Hey, wait until Itachi proposes to you."

"Shikamaru! Don't start teasing me like that! I got enough of it from Neji!"

"Ooo, best tell me right away when that happens!"

"Ino-pig! Gah!"

The echoes of laughter rang throughout the bedroom, although soon interrupted by a loud, somewhat hungry meow from the forgotten pet of the house.

* * *

"Mother, your teasing is very annoying this early in the morning," Itachi said as he finished his breakfast. Fugaku sighed from behind his paper, "Mikoto. Sometimes the teasing gets out of hand. You shouldn't keep pressuring Itachi, or Sasuke for that matter, like that."

Mikoto only pouted very lightly, "Well, sometimes kids need a push in the right direction. I mean, marriage is a very important thing!"

"One, we've only been going out for almost two months. Second, this is a subject that I don't like talking about early in the morning before I have to go to work."

"Oh, fine! Geez. Well, you can at least invite her back over for dinner."

"...All right, I'll give you that."

Sasuke, quiet throughout the conversation, only glared at Itachi from behind his glass.

* * *

Sakura stretched out on her couch, looking over at the clock. 2:34. "Half the day missed. I really need to tell myself to set my alarm even on days I'm off," she said, grabbing the stereo remote and turning on the system, a CD that was inside spinning around and starting to play.

The gentle beats of instrumental music came through the speakers and she smiled, standing up and walking towards her kitchen. "Hmm...I think I'll make some tea," she said softly to herself, stretching her arms up with a yawn.

Suddenly she heard her phone ring, forcing her to turn back around to answer it. _'Just when I was about to get my tea,'_ she thought with a little bit of irritation as she flipped the top of her phone open and brought it to her ear.

_"Hello?"_

_"Hey blossom."_

_"Heh, hey Itachi. What's up?"_

_"I was curious; are you free to eat with us tonight?"_

_"Us?"_

_"My family."_

_"Oh. Yeah, I'm free tonight."_

_"All right. Pick you up at 6:30?"_

_"Yes, that's fine."_

_"All right...Deidara, shut up. See you tonight then."_

_"Hehe, all right. Bye."_

Sakura closed the top of her phone and sighed with a smile playing her lips. _'I really need to get to know Deidara more. He seems very entertaining,'_ she thought, placing her phone back on the table and turning around towards the kitchen to make her tea.

* * *

"Good evening, Sakura!"

"Good evening, Mikoto, Fugaku."

"Hello Sakura. I'm glad that you could join us this evening."

Sakura flashed them a sweet smile before sitting down on the couch next to Itachi. "Dinner will be ready in a little bit. We're having meat loaf tonight," Mikoto said cheerfully as she sat down beside her. Another bright smile graced Sakura's lips as the room fell into gentle conversation.

That was, until the door opened again, revealing Sasuke.

"Oh, hello Sasuke! You're back early," Mikoto said, earning a shrug from the younger sibling. "Karin had to leave early," he said bluntly, looking at Sakura as he spoke. Sakura stiffened slightly under his glare, not gone unnoticed by Itachi who instinctively grabbed her hand. "Aww, sorry to hear that then. But that means you can join us for dinner!" Mikoto said sweetly, oblivious to the reaction that Sakura had.

Fugaku looked over at the pink hair woman with firm, yet curious eyes. In his own quiet way, unknown by the others sharing the room, he knew that there was something amiss between his younger son and the angelic guest.

* * *

"Sakura, Itachi."

"Hm? Yes, Fugaku?"

"Father?"

"May I speak to both of you? Upstairs, in private."

They each nodded and stood, following the master Uchiha upstairs, ignoring the glare and concern look from the other two occupants of the house.

Once upstairs, Fugaku led them into a room full of books, which Sakura assumed was a study. They entered the room, the door closed behind them. "I want you to tell me the truth, Sakura," Fugaku said firmly once the rosette sat down in the sole chair in the room.

"The truth?"

"Yes. About what's going on between you and Sasuke. I'm not blind; I saw tension earlier this evening from you when he spoke, and noticed it before as well. I want you to tell me everything."

A gentle hand rested on Sakura's shoulder, causing her to look up at red-contacted eyes, giving her assurance. She nodded her head and turned back to Fugaku, taking in a deep breath. "All right," she said in a slight whisper, her hands grasping at the hem of her shirt in a bit of nervousness.

---Flashback---

"_Sakura, we've been together for almost seven months. Come on, don't tell me you're afraid of going further."_

"_I'm not afraid. I'm--"_

"_Then let's take us a step further."_

"_Sasuke, you don't--"_

_Sakura found her words cut off by warm forceful lips, her hands fighting in protest against his chest. "Sasuke-mmph! Stop it!" she yelled when she was able to break away for a second, only to find herself caught the next._

_At last, she managed to push him off. "Damn it, Sasuke! Stop it! I told you before! No matter how much I love you, or anyone for that matter, I'm staying abstinent until marriage," she said, her heart beating fast from their struggle, "I told you. It was my mother's moral, and it's mine as well. I wish you would respect that."_

_Sasuke said nothing to her; he only turned, grabbed his jacket, and walked out the door. Sakura stared at the door in confusion, sitting down on her couch to steady herself._

_A few days passed before Sakura saw him again, walking past Ichiraku's while she was on her break. "Hey Sasu--" she started to say before she saw a familiar redhead woman walk up to him._

_A smirk came across his lips before they found themselves pressed against hers hotly._

_Sakura's eyes widened. Her boyfriend was kissing the number one whore, Karin._

"_Hey Sakura, do you want to...Sakura?" Neji asked, walking outside of the restaurant once he saw the teary-eyed and distressed face of one of his closest friends. "He...he cheated on me," she whispered, eyes unable to turn away from the scene of the two now making out against the wall, totally unaware of the audience watching._

_Neji looked in the direction of the pair, and felt his anger rising. "That freaking bastard," he muttered, clenching a fist, "What the hell does he think he's doing?" Tears streamed down Sakura's cheeks as she watched, her hands grabbing at her apron. "Sasuke...Sasuke, why!?" she screamed, pulling the two apart with surprise._

"_How could you!? How could you do this!?"_

"_Sakura."_

"_You...you bastard! How could you go off and cheat on me like that!?"_

_Sakura buried her face in her hands, turning around and running away from the pair and Neji, who held a dangerous glare at them. "Uchiha, you treaded on dangerous ground," he said, giving chase after the rosette._

---End Flashback---

"And ever since I met and started to date Itachi, Sasuke's been possessive and keep trying to make me leave him so I can be his girlfriend again," Sakura finished, biting her bottom lip as Fugaku stared intently at her, processing everything as simply as he can.

"I see."

Itachi watched his father walk across the room and placed a gentle hand on Sakura's head, making her look with curious, surprised eyes. He smiled at her, about as much of one as Itachi would give her, then looked up at his son. "Itachi. Take care of this angel well. I will try my best to keep Sasuke away from her as well," he said, then looked back down at Sakura, "You shouldn't have to deal with the pain and pressure that he's trying to put you through."

Itachi nodded, "Of course I'll take care of her. I love her." Fugaku smirked at that, "Good. Because one day I wouldn't mind seeing her as being like my daughter."

Sakura promptly blushed and Itachi groaned, "Not you too. Mother has corrupted you." A chuckle ran throughout the study from the older man, putting the place into a better ease.

* * *

"Thank you for the nice evening. Well, outside of the chat with your father. But I guess it feels good knowing that someone else knows what's going on."

"Yeah. I had a suspicion he knew; he's not clueless like Mother tends to be."

"Hehe, Mikoto's still fun."

"Hn."

Sakura flashed him a soft smile as they stopped in front of the apartment building. "Well, good night hon," she said sweetly, placing a quick kiss on Itachi's lips before opening the door to get out.

His arm shot out and grabbed her hand, pulling her back to look inside. "Huh? Itachi, what is it?" she asked, staring at his serious expression.

"Sakura...I want to know if you want me to stay with you."

"Stay with me...? What do you mean?"

"I want to protect and be with you."

The realization hit her then and her eyes widened, "You mean...move in together? Itachi, I..." "You don't have to answer yet. I know it's quick, since it's only been two months. Whenever you decide, then let me know," he said, releasing her hand and allowing her to process everything she was told.

Silence enveloped them before Sakura took in a deep breath, a small smile forming on her lips.

"In a month. On our anniversary. We'll have a special party just for us. Unless Hanabi unexpectedly joins us."

* * *

Yes, I know Itachi is very OOC in this case, but hey, my story! I want to make him seem sweet like he was before the massacre (although of course, there's nothing like that in here!). Anyway, until the next chapter, ja ne! 


	11. News

Author's Note: I'd like to dedicate this chapter to Sw33t.Stuff.Sakura for her wonderful review that gave me an extremely loud laugh for early in the morning. Well, hope you enjoy it! Yes, I know this is short, but it's a good chapter, I promise!

Chapter 11: News

"What!?"

"Sheesh, not so loud, Ino. It's still early morning."

"Sorry, but you're serious!? Itachi asked to move in with you and you agreed!?"

"Yes, and stop shouting!"

Sakura rubbed an aching temple, "Geez...our shift has barely started and you're already getting loud." Ino's lips pouted as her blue eyes glared, then looked in the direction of the employee's door, taking notice of the two men coming in.

"Ooo, so our little cherry blossom is going to have a new roommate."

"All that's left is the proposal, isn't there?"

"Kiba, Neji! Gah!" Sakura yelled softer in annoyance, earning a laugh from the blonde of the group. "Well, you had it coming, Sakura. Remember, we've known you the longest out of everyone. Well, at least Neji and I have. Kiba, I think he just sits around for the ride," she said, sticking out her tongue at the previously said man.

Sakura sighed and shook her head, going back out to the tables as she took noticed of someone sitting at one of hers. Upon closer inspection, she saw the familiar face from months ago.

"Oh, Deidara!"

"Hmm? Oh, hello again Sakura, yeah."

The pink hair woman smiled, taking out her notebook, "It's been awhile since you came here. A couple of months now, huh?" The blonde just nodded his head, a grin stretched across his face. "Yeah. Could you wait on taking my order, yeah? I'm actually waiting for someone to get their butt over here," he said, motioning for her to sit across from him, "But come on, sit and talk, yeah. It would be nice to know more about you, since Itachi doesn't talk much, yeah."

Sakura chuckled and sat down, "I see. Not much of a gossiper then, is he?" Deidara shook his head, "At work, he's serious about his work, yeah. Then again, being the oldest Uchiha, it's not a surprise, since he's going to take over for his dad one day, yeah. Kisame and I try our best to dig some answers out, but that man is hard to crack."

"Hehe, he's not that hard-headed."

"Duh, to you. He loves you, yeah."

"Yeah, and I love him just as much."

Deidara smirked, then turned his attention to a redhead man that appeared beside him. "Hey Dei. Who's this?" he asked, motioning to the woman standing up. "Oh, hey Sasori. This is Sakura," he said, "Sakura, this is Sasori."

"Pleased to meet you."

"The same, Sakura. Tell me, how do you know Dei?"

"Sasori, don't tell me you're getting jealous."

"Haha, it's cool. Deidara is a coworker of my boyfriend, Itachi Uchiha."

"The ice cube? You told me he was gay," Sasori said, motioning his statement to Deidara, "But obviously not if he has a girl like this." Deidara childishly stuck his tongue out at him, making Sakura smile. "Well, either way, I should get back to work anyway. I'll go take care of another table and I'll be back over here in a few minutes to get your order," she said, taking out her pen and turning around, walking towards another table.

* * *

"Oh, how sweet!"

Mikoto smiled brightly and laughed while Fugaku shared a secret smirk behind the end of his folded newspaper. Sasuke glared hard, wanting so hard to punch the older man sitting at their table. "Yes, in a month. On our third month anniversary, we have it planned out," Itachi explained, taking a bite of his breakfast, "But don't get any other ideas, Mother. We are living together, not getting married."

Mikoto just sighed happily, "Well, living together is a step in that direction, but I'll let things go this time without teasing." She picked up her plate and brought it to the kitchen, depositing it in the sink before returning to the dining room. "But I'm so happy for you. You two still better come back for dinner sometimes though," she said firmly, earning a sigh from her husband.

"Of course. Sakura enjoys yours and Father's company very much."

"Really? Aww, so sweet!"

Sasuke grunted and stood up, leaving a plate of barely touched food on the table. "Hmm, Sasuke, is something wrong?" Mikoto asked, oblivious to the reason behind her son's attitude.

"Yeah, something's wrong. It's him."

Fugaku looked up at that point, "Enough Sasuke. That's enough. Stop with the act towards Itachi and Sakura's relationship. It's not his fault that your relationship fell through; it's yours." Sasuke was silent, then finally grunted and walked away. Itachi and Fugaku watched as Mikoto's eyes lit up with curiosity.

"Did I miss something?"

"Sasuke's jealous. That's all there really is to it. But if you excuse me, I have to go to work."

* * *

So does that clear up the confusion for you? And yes, I had to put in that little bit of SasoDei yaoi fluff; it's one of my favorite yaoi pairings. But anyway, until the next chapter, ja ne! 


	12. A Final Chance

Author's Note: Well, only a few more chapters until the end of the story! I know that's sad, but I promise it will end on a good note!

Once again, there's a time jump in this chapter.

Chapter 12: A Final Chance

"It feels a little strange. Tonight will be our last night eating together as the four of us," Mikoto said as she cleaned up the dishes from breakfast, "I'm going to have to get used to cooking for three people instead of four!" Fugaku chuckled, "You'll get used to it." Itachi only sighed through slightly curled lips while Sasuke tried his best to hid back his hateful glare.

_'Tomorrow Itachi moves in with Sakura, and once that happens there is no way I can convince Sakura to be my girl again. That means today is my last chance.'

* * *

_

"One message...again, a day without a message on my phone."

Sakura sighed as she pushed the buttons to access her voice mail, bringing the phone to her ear afterward.

_First Message - _

_Hey Sakura, it's Sasuke. I know you hate me for calling, but I want to talk to you. I guess you can say I want to apologize for everything I've done. So please, will you meet me here at my house this afternoon? You don't have to call back; just knock on the door. Bye._

She sighed again as she closed the top to her phone. _'He sounded sincere enough, but...well, I'm sure Mikoto or Fugaku will be there too, so it should be all right. This will be his last chance to make peace, and realize that I'm not coming back,'_ she thought, putting the phone away in her pocket before going back inside to grab lunch.

* * *

"Hey Sakura. I'm glad you could come over."

"Hello Sasuke. You wanted to talk to me?"

He nodded, closing the door behind her, and leading her to the kitchen. "Yeah. I wanted to talk about everything that's been going on. Sit down; I'll make us some tea," he said, motioning for her to sit on the couch. The place went silent at that point, the feeling uncomfortable to the young woman.

"So..where's Mikoto and Fugaku? It's a little funny not seeing them here, since every other time I came over, at least one of them is home."

"Father went to fill in for someone at work and Mother is out shopping. She wants to make our last meal together as a full family special, since tomorrow Itachi moves in with you."

"Yeah."

Sasuke sat down in the chair across from her, onyx staring deeply into emerald and putting more uneasiness on her shoulders. _'Great, so I'm alone with him. It just had to figure! Itachi's gone, Fugaku's at work, and Mikoto's out shopping. Sure, I don't think she knows the truth about us, but Fugaku does and he--'_ Sakura's thought were cut short by the feel of Sasuke's hand on hers.

"Sakura. I'm sorry for everything I did. I should've respected your moral and not try and pressure you into sleeping together. And then turning to Karin...that was the biggest mistake of my life."

Her body stiffened when he came closer, sitting down on the couch with her. "Like Itachi said, I was a fool to let an angel like you go," he said, lips too close for her comfort, "Can you forgive me?"

His lips brushed against hers, breaking her stiff posture and moved to push him away, standing up as she did. "What the hell? How dare you go and kiss me like that! Did you actually think that a few simple words would make things perfectly all right?" she yelled, emerald eyes flashing in anger.

"Damn it, Sakura! What will it take to convince you that I love you and I want you back?"

"Nothing you can do will convince me! I love Itachi! I hate you!"

Sakura turned on her heel and moved towards the door, only to be pulled back by a painful tug on her wrist. "Let me go right freaking now, Sasuke!" she yelled, her free hand balled into a fist and pounding on his chest. His other hand stopped her fist, onyx glaring. "You're not going anywhere Sakura! I'm going to convince you one way or the other that you belong with me, not Itachi," he said with a growl, fiercely claiming her lips with his.

* * *

"Hey, Itachi. You seem a bit off today, yeah. Is something up?"

"No, it's nothing."

"Yeah right."

"Shut it Kisame."

The Uchiha stood up from his desk, grabbed his cell phone and keys, and walked away, heading to his car for some privacy.

Once inside, he dialed a few numbers and brought the phone to his ear, waiting for the person on the other end to pick up.

* * *

Sakura pushed Sasuke off for the third time, grabbing her ringing phone and answering.

"_H-hello?"_

"_Sakura? Are you all right?"_

"_Oh, hey Itachi. No, things are...no, let go of the phone!"_

"_Sakura? Sakura, what's going on?"_

"_Sasu-"_

The line went dead at that point.

"Sasuke? Damn," Itachi muttered, turning on the car and dialing a few numbers on his phone.

"Deidara, I have to take the rest of the day off. Something big just came up."

* * *

Sakura reached for her thrown phone, grabbing it and quickly making another attempt at the door, finding it useless again. He took her phone and tossed it again, his lips falling on hers again and ignoring her continuing protests. Tears began to stream from her eyes as she tried to get away, her body becoming weak and tired from the struggle.

_'Itachi...I'm so sorry.'

* * *

_

Within ten minutes, Itachi was turning the corner of his street, being ever grateful to the fact that work was not too far away. _'Damn little brother. Father even warned you, and yet you persist,'_ his mind cursed, parking the car in front of the house. Within seconds, he was inside, looking at a tear-strained Sakura and a shocked-to-anger Sasuke.

"Get off of her," he growled, pushing his brother off the woman and gathering her into his arms. With barely a finger on her, he could feel her body quivering as if she was standing bare in negative-degree weather. "Itachi, I'm s-so--" she stuttered, stopped by a gentle push into his chest.

"You are a really sick and desperate person, aren't you?"

"I--"

"Don't come near her again, Sasuke. Sakura is not and will not be your girl."

He glared darkly at his younger brother, his seriousness dripping with each passing second. Sasuke was silent as Sakura cried softly, letting out her fear and relief against her boyfriend's chest. "Come on, Sakura. Let's go home," he said, sending one more glare at Sasuke before heading out the door.

"Tell Mother and Father I won't be coming home tonight. We'll settle for family breakfast tomorrow."

* * *

Itachi looked over at the sleeping woman on the couch as he made himself a glass of iced tea. It was only an hour ago they came back from the Uchiha home, and within that hour, he saw his beautiful blossom break down in a way he's never seen anyone break before. Within that hour he learned to hate his little brother in the same fashion as Sasuke hated him.

A small, waking moan broke him of his thoughts and turned his attention to her, watching her emerald eyes open slowly. "Mmm...Itachi?" she asked softly, earning a light chuckle in return.

"Morning, blossom."

"Funny...Itachi..."

"It's all right. You're okay, and that's all that matters. Tomorrow I'll get your phone when I go back to get my boxes. Tonight, however, I'm staying here."

Sakura shook her head, "You should be at home having your family meal, even though you're pissed at Sasuke. You shouldn't let me interfer--" Soft lips connected with hers, ultimately making her silent.

"There's nothing more important to me than being with you."

* * *

"I guess...there's nothing left to do but give up. Well, Sakura, I hope that he can make you happy. After all, an angel deserves to be happy with the one she loves. Even if that one happens to be the man I hate the most in the world."

* * *

Yay, Sasuke finally gave up! Haha, he lost and Itachi won! -ahem- Anyway.

I have to admit I had some inspiration for this chapter. That inspiration coming from a chapter in Volume 4 of Yuu Watase's Absolute Boyfriend. Just, unlike in AB, I didn't include the fight, but that's because I don't feel like writing out a fight scene. Ah well.

Anyway, until the next chapter, ja ne!


	13. Moved In

Author's Note: Well, now that I'm done with my other story, I can now devote my time to finishing this! Enjoy!

And yes, I know this chapter will seem rather jumpy, but I really rather not write out the whole scene. It's easier this way on my brain, seriously.

Chapter 13: Moved In

Sakura woke up from her nap to the smell of frying vegetables.

"Hmm...what smells so good?" she asked groggily, standing up and heading to the kitchen. "You woke up in good time. I'm almost done with dinner," Itachi said, not turning towards her as he drained water from a pot of rice, "Fried vegetables and rice with orange chicken. Mother taught me this when I was younger; I'm surprised I still remember it."

"One of my favorites," Sakura said cheerfully, grabbing out two plates and forks and setting them on the table. He chuckled as he brought the rice to the table, then went back to grab the rest.

* * *

"Tired?"

"Is it obvious?"

"Not really."

"Haha," Sakura said through a yawn, "Very funny." She stood up, stretching out her arms. "Well, I guess I'm turning in. Since tomorrow we got some moving around to do," she said, giving Itachi a kiss before turning around, "Good night. I love you." He only smirked, "I love you too blossom. Good night."

* * *

Itachi returned home early in the morning, surprised to see that he wasn't the only one in the house awake.

"Sasuke."

"Itachi."

"Mother and Father are still asleep?"

"Yes," came the reply as Sasuke stood, Sakura's phone in his hand. "You need to return this to her. Dobe called her sometime yesterday, and I'm sure it must be an important call," he said, giving him the phone before turning and heading upstairs to his room.

"So you've finally given up?"

"...Make her happy or else I'll have to kick your ass."

* * *

"Whew...man, you sure love to read. This box is so freaking heavy!" Sakura said as she dropped the box of books on the floor, wiping a bit of forming sweat from her brow with her arm. "I told you to let me carry it, but you didn't want to listen," Itachi mockingly scolded, placing down two much lighter boxes beside it.

"I'm not a weakling. I think I could handle a box of books on my own."

"Then what was with the complaint?"

"It wasn't a complaint; it was a statement."

"Mmhmm."

She lightly punched his arm, "Meanie." He chuckled as he placed a gentle kiss on her forehead, then turned around to head back out and grab another box.

* * *

"Finally...whew!" Sakura exclaimed, falling backwards on the bed with her arms stretched up over her head, "Wow, this room looks ten times different now."

"Being that a man has moved in here, of course it looks different."

"Aren't you just the joker today."

He only chuckled as he followed Sakura's example, finding it to be incredibly relaxing on his aching back. She smiled, turning her head to stare into his red-contacted eyes. "Doesn't it feel weird in some ways? That we are officially moved in?" she asked, only earning a kiss as her answer.

"No, not really," he said, then groaned slightly as he sat up, "Let's go and get some Chinese." Sakura lightly punched his arm again, "Mood killer."

* * *

Yeah, I know this chapter is short and a bit random, but hey, not all chapters are going to be action-packed and whatever...yeah. Well, until the next update, ja ne! 


	14. Future Talk: Love and Marriage!

Author's Note: Yes, I'll admit the last chapter was boring, but I'll just call it a "semi-filler" chapter, meaning it was pointless, but needed to get to this chapter. Don't worry; this will make up for it!

And yes, there is a big gap in here. Seven months actually. I know that's a huge gap, but really, do you want to read many chapters talking about their days up to this point? Didn't think so.

Chapter 14: Future Talk: Love and Marriage!?

"God damn it! Ack!"

Sakura coughed as the dropped flour flew up in a mess as it fell to the floor. "Okay...Sakura, you're a genius. Why in the hell did you put the flour in the jar on the very top shelf? The shelf you can BARELY reach?" she yelled at herself, shaking her head to get out some of the floor that turned her pink hair white.

"Enjoying yelling at no one?" Itachi asked, closing the door behind him as he came in. "I am yelling at someone. I'm yelling at myself, if you can't tell," she replied with ultimate sarcasm, "There went my plan for baking. Gah!" Her attention turned away from her snickering boyfriend to the floor, picking up the can and staring at it as if she was waiting for it to melt.

"I believe you're going a bit crazy."

"I am not!"

Her lips formed into a pout, turning her glare from the can to Itachi, then smiled and sighed. "Welcome home," she said, giving him a quick kiss before turning back to clean up her mess. He muttered something soft and sarcastic under his breath, earning a flour-covered towel thrown at his head, before he turned down the hall to his room, wanting so much to relax.

"Did Deidara and Kisame give you a lot of grief today?"

"Every month that goes by they do the same thing."

"Well, then don't circle the dates on your calendar!"

"Very hard to do."

Itachi returned to the kitchen, running a hand through his hair, "Besides, even if I didn't circle the day, they have it memorized. Idiots." Sakura only shook her head, making more of the white powder fly out, "They're not that bad. They're both really amusing."

"You've met them both together once. They were being normal around you, but they wouldn't shut up after you left."

"Meh. Still good in my book."

She put the broom back in the storage closet where it belonged and took out an unopened box of pancake mix, "Breakfast for dinner." He only sighed, "How was I figuring? It's the same thing."

Sakura only smiled, pulling out three eggs and a box of sausage, "Happy seven months."

* * *

"Oh yeah, I just remembered. Tomorrow Ino's coming over so we can discuss her wedding plans, but I know you want to spend the day and do some work at home, so if you want we can just go out and talk about this stuff."

"No, it's fine. I don't have a lot to do anyway, and if I really need to concentrate, I'll just go to my room and work."

"You sure?"

"Do I really have a right to disturb a girl-to-girl gab session, as Mother often put it?"

"Uh...yeah?"

He chuckled, "Interesting answer. Obviously, you both have different opinions on that. Either way, I don't mind. Just pretend that I'm not there."

* * *

_'So much for pretending you're not here.'_

Sakura sighed as Itachi looked at the picture of the tuxedos the men would have to wear, an eyebrow raised as if saying "What in the world are you thinking?"

"What? White is a good color on Shikamaru!"

"If you say so."

"Well, no one asked you!"

Sakura sighed again, this time a little louder, "Stop yelling, please. Ino, I have to agree. White is the best for clouds, not for Shikamaru's tuxedo. Stick with the traditional black, and go crazy on something else." Ino pouted, reluctantly agreeing to prevent further argument. Sakura smiled then turned to Itachi, "And I thought you said we should pretend you're not here. Very hard to do that when you're talking." He glared as Ino snickered and Sakura smirked before standing up. "I'll get some tea then. Do you want some?" he asked, earning two nods before he walked away.

Once out sight, Ino leaned over and grinned at her best friend, "So Sakura...it's been seven months." A pink brow was raised in confusion, "Ye...ah? What about it?"

"Has he popped the question yet?"

"WHAT!?"

"Shh!"

"Sorry, but what are you talking about?"

"Has Itachi popped the question to you yet?"

Sakura shook her head viciously, enough to give her whiplash if she did it for too long. "No! Why on Earth are you asking me that!?" "Come on! You can't tell me you two haven't talked about it," Ino replied, "I mean, you've been going out for awhile, you live together...all that's left is the marriage."

"You've got to be kidding me! Itachi and I haven't discussed anything like this!"

"No, you've got to be kidding me! You've been together all this time, and you two never even talked to each other about the future?"

Sakura sighed, shaking her head in her hands before looking up at the blonde. "No, we haven't. Ino, we're taking things as they come. We're not going to rush things," she said.

"Sure, sure. But tell me the truth, Sakura. Have _you __**ever**_ thought about it?"

"What?"

"Have you ever thought about marrying Itachi? I mean, ever thought about how that would feel?"

Sakura was silent as she leaned back. "Yeah...I've thought about it, but that's natural. All girls think about marriage and stuff with their boyfriends," she said. Ino groaned, "I know that, Forehead. I was meaning have you ever thought about it and _wanted_ it to happen?"

She said nothing, deciding to stare at the pictures and supplies of things Ino brought over. "Come on, we got a few moments before Itachi comes back with the tea, so we can discuss the tuxedos without his opinion," she said, a bit of a sly smile gracing her lips. "I'll take that as a yes," Ino muttered under her breath, not gone unheard by the other woman.

Or the man with great hearing in the kitchen, who only smirked as he brought out the cups of tea on a tray.

* * *

Ooo...Itachi has something going through his mind So does this mean he's been having the same thoughts as Sakura? Well, only one way to find out...the next chapter! Until then, ja ne! 


	15. Ring

Author's Note: There's a time skip of 2 weeks for this chapter. And yes, I will admit this chapter is skippy, but it does get boring writing out every detail of the events and such when they aren't extremely important. -sigh-

Chapter 15: Ring

"Have any plans for tomorrow?"

Sakura raised an eyebrow at him, "Other than work until 5:00, no. Why?" Itachi only smirked behind his book, "Would you like to go out to dinner?" "Hmm, that would be nice instead of making something when I got home. All right," Sakura said, smiling as she turned her attention back to her knitting, "No, Tenshi! No attacking the yarn!"

* * *

"About time, yeah!"

Deidara slapped his hand hard on Itachi's back, "Finally got up the nerve to ask her, huh? That's my boy, yeah!" Kisame laughed as Itachi glared an infamous Uchiha death glare. "How did you even figure this out?" the raven hair man asked, making Deidara's grin widen. He pointed to the calendar, "You put a heart around the day, meaning it was something with Sakura." He then held up a small black box, "And this fell out of your pocket, yeah."

Itachi quickly grabbed the box and hid it in the pocket of his coat that didn't have the apparent hole.

"I need to stop marking things on the calendar."

"And fix the hole in your pocket?"

"Shut up Kisame."

* * *

Sakura laughed, "You've got to be kidding me! I didn't think I'd see you three here!"

Mikoto smiled, Fugaku nodded his head, and Sasuke smirked as their eyes met those of their pink hair waitress. "Hello Sakura!" Mikoto said cheerfully, "For once we came in on the same day you're working!"

"Mother that sounds like you were trying to stalk her."

"I was not meaning it like that!"

"It's all right, Mikoto. I know what you mean. So, what do you three wish to order?"

* * *

"See you again soon, Sakura! Take care, and say hello to Itachi for us!"

"I will! Bye Mikoto, bye Fugaku, bye--"

She felt a finger tap her shoulder. She turned to faced Sasuke, standing next to her with arms crossed his chest. "Hmm? What's up?" Sakura asked, a little surprised to see the younger Uchiha standing beside her. "You should warn Itachi that he best take good care of you," he said, a smirk evident on his face.

A thin brow was raised in confusion; Sakura knew this tone of Sasuke's voice, always used before a big surprise came out. "What's going on?" she asked, only earning a chuckle.

"You'll see tonight, won't you?"

* * *

"Remember this place?"

"Of course. This was the place where we had our first date."

Sakura smiled as Itachi pushed in her chair. "Such a gentleman," she said in a mocking voice. He only smirked at her, his red-contacted eyes playful. "Only for you, blossom," he said in the same tone.

Suddenly the waitress appeared by their table, notebook out and ready to take their order.

* * *

"Recognize this song?"

"Yes. I sang it for you on our first date."

She smiled, humming to the beat for a moment before staring curiously at Itachi. "Why the trip down Memory Lane tonight?" she asked, arms folded on the table as she leaned over on them slightly. He only smirked and shrugged his shoulders, "Nothing really."

"You're hiding something."

"I'm innocent, blossom."

"Mmhmm. I believe that."

Sakura only leaned back and smiled, arms still on the table, "Sasuke used his "best watch out" voice with me today when he, Mikoto, and Fugaku came into Ichiraku's today, so I know there is something going on." Itachi's lips formed a frown, his voice turning into a low mutter, "That little..."

"Itachi?"

"He ruined part of the surprise."

Sakura only raised an eyebrow as she watched him stand up and approach her, her lips forming into an "o" when he knelt down. "Itachi...? What are you...?" she asked, her voice trailing off. "Well, obviously I still have a bit of the surprise element, don't I?" he asked, pulling out the little box from his pocket.

"Oh my...Itachi! You've got to be kidding!"

"Does it look like I'm kidding?"

Sakura smiled and shook her head, making him smirk as she extended out her left hand. "Will you marry me?" he asked, somewhat dumbly but all in seriousness. "Yes!" Sakura exclaimed overexcitedly, placing a bubbly kiss on his lips as the band slipped over her finger.

"Way to go Forehead!"

"About time Itachi, yeah!"

Their heads turned to see those of their friend, most importantly Ino and Deidara who made their presence known.

Sasuke smirked, "Told ya." Sakura stuck out her tongue at him before turning back to Itachi, "You had this planned out the entire time, didn't you?"

"Everything except for Deidara."

"Hey! No fair Itachi, yeah!"

* * *

Hehe, I had to have Deidara have the final line in the chapter. -loves him-

Anyway, here's the end of the chapter. Coming soon will be the final chapter of the story. Aww, ending the story on a happy note! Well, until then, ja ne!


	16. Into The Night: Wedding Day

Author's Note: Well, here it is, the final chapter of Into The Night! First off, I must say that I had a lot of fun writing this, and I'm a little surprised about how this came together. I started this as a spur-of-the-moment one-shot while I was in the middle of an update in my other story. Little over a month and 15 chapters later, this has become my most popular fanfic, next to my first GaaSaku story Scars and Tears.

And I have to thank my readers and reviewers for that. Thank you so much for taking an interest in my first ItaSaku fic. However, as a note, I don't plan on making a sequel to this fic, so please don't ask. As much as I love to please the readers, I really don't have any idea for a sequel, so the story ends as it does. Sorry!

Anyway, here's the final chapter! Enjoy! Yes, skippy skippy again, but that's because I'm too lazy to write out everything with their planning and such. Forgive the lameness in it; I'm not good at wedding scenes.

Chapter 16: Into The Night: Wedding Day

"Ino, I told you! You can't see my kimono until the wedding!"

"Oi, come on Forehead!"

"No means no. Don't you want to be surprised like everyone else?"

"I'll be surprised either way, so let me see!"

"Damn it, Ino-pig, no!"

* * *

"Hey, why aren't I the best man, yeah!?"

"Because you're loud and annoying."

"I'm loud and annoying!?"

"Hey...um, Itachi? Could you tell Mr. Deidara not to yell? It's hard to do homework with yelling."

"Sorry Hanabi."

"So cute, yeah!"

"And that's why Kisame is the best man, and not you. Because every time Hanabi takes a step, you'll be screaming about how cute she is."

"Well, she is, yeah!"

"Mr. Deidara, could you please stop yelling?"

"So cute!"

"Oi..."

* * *

Sakura sighed, falling back on the couch, "Never again am I telling Ino anything about a surprise." "Never again am I letting Deidara near Hanabi...at least after the wedding," Itachi replied, following her action.

"Was it a bad idea that I left you with her?"

"No. It was the matter of Deidara's love for "cute" things."

Sakura only laughed as she leaned her head on her fiancée's shoulder. "That must have been interesting," she said, making him sigh.

"Interesting isn't the word."

"Hehe...well, come on. We should get to bed, huh? It's almost midnight."

"Maybe."

"Okay, I'm going to bed then."

Sakura gave him a quick kiss before standing up, "One more week."

* * *

"Do you Itachi take Sakura as your lawfully wedded wife?"

"I do."

"And do you Sakura take Itachi as your lawfully wedded husband?"

"I do."

"Then by the power vested in me, I pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss the bride."

And Sasori had to keep Deidara from exclaiming out in excitement as their lips met in sealing their bond.

* * *

"I'd like to propose a toast," Sasuke said, standing as he lightly tapped a spoon against his glass. Everyone turned their attention to him, raising their glasses in hand.

"To my brother and his angel. I'm glad that in end you two got together. Just don't screw it up."

Itachi glared as Sakura laughed, taking a sip of her cherry coke after having promptly refuse alcohol for her at the reception. "I doubt we'll screw it up, Sasuke," she said, sticking out her tongue at the younger Uchiha.

Suddenly the music changed and the DJ's voice came in loud on the microphone, "I think it's time our bride and groom had their first dance." Sakura smiled and looked knowingly at Itachi, "Another trip down memory lane?"

"Of course," he said with a smirk, taking her hand in his, leading her out to the dance floor as the beats picked up. Others began to join them, the room filling up with singing, clapping, and laughter galore.

"You love taking these trips, don't you?" Sakura asked, wrapping her arms tightly around her husband's neck and pulling herself closer to him. "Oh, very much so," he replied, his tone mockingly serious. She only smiled, placing her lips on his. The two ignored everything around them but the music.

They weren't paying attention to Ino and Kisame getting drunk over sake they managed to sneak into the reception.

They weren't watching Hanabi trying to dance with Sasuke, who really didn't want to be seen dancing with a little kid, nor were they listening to Deidara exclaim "Hanabi's so cute!" or "I want to be a dad to a cute kid like her!" to an annoyed Sasori.

Nope, they just ignored the chaos around them that was their reception. Then again, they wouldn't have it any other way, would they?

_And we danced on into the night

* * *

_

Yep, it's done! Thank you for reading! Keep an eye out for my next fic! Until then, ja ne!


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